THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 


"The  Tiger"  Prepares  for  Battle 

Premier  Clemenceau  obtains  the  proof  of  the  Great  Conspiracy  and  plans 
the  prosecution  of  the  plotters  against  Franca.  Lt.  Mornet,  chief  prose- 
cutor (on  left)  ;  Captain  Bourchardon,  chief  investigator,  next  to  Mprne; 
M.  Ignace,  under  Secretary  of  State  for  Military  Affairs  (standing)  ; 
Clemenceau  on  extreme  right. 


THE 

ENEMY  WITHIN 

Hitherto  Unpublished  Details  of  the   Great 
Conspiracy  to  Corrupt  and  Destroy   France 

By 

SEVERANCE  JOHNSON 

Special  Investigator  and  Correspondent  at  the  Paris 
Peace  Conference 

Translations    by   EDGARD    LEON 
lUiutrated 


1919 

THE  JAMES  A.  McCANN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK 


Copyright  1919,  by 

THE  JAMES  A.  McCANN  COMPANY 
All  Rights  Reserved 


Printed  in  tha  U.  S.  A 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 
A  WOMAN'S  CRIME  SAVED  FRANCE 

Why  Mme.  Caillaux  Killed  Gaston  Calmette— CaiUafox's  Ante 
Bellum  Alliance  With  Germany — The  First  Seeds  of  the 
Pestilence— Caillaux  Forced  Out  of  Cabinet  By  Wife's  Mad 
Act,  Continues  to  Plot  Against  France 1 

CHAPTER  II 
THE    BONNET   ROUGE   GANG 

A  Hotbed  of  Sedition — Almereyda,  Apache  Editor— -His  Criminal 
Record — Almereyda,  Tool  of  Caillaux — The  Apaches  Revel — 
A  Pacifist  Reporter...' 20 

CHAPTER  III 
CAILLAUX  WOULD  BE  ANOTHER  LENINE 

Awaits  German  Armies  in  Paris — Plans  Coup  d'Etat  and  Dictator- 
ship— In  Private  Life,  But  Still  Powerful—Controls  State 
Affairs  Through  Malvy ' 80 

CHAPTER  IV 
MALVY,   CABINET   MINISTER,   FRIEND   OF   FOE 

The  Dummy  of  Caillaux — His  Socialistic  and  Labor  Following — 
His  Friendship  for  Almereyda  and  the  Bonnet  Rouge  Gang — 
His  Private  Life — A  Gambler — Caillaux  Protected  by 
Bernstorff 46 

CHAPTER  V 
THE    ENEMY    GROWS    BOLDER 

Defeated  in  Drive  to  Capture  Paris,  Germany  Spreads  Pestilence 
Behind  the  Lines — Almereda  and  Malvy  Protect  Alien 
Enemies — Almereyda's  Sudden  Riches — His  Lurid  Life....  61 


2039556 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VI 
"THE  RED  BEE"   AND  "LA  RUCHE" 

Sebastian  Faure  and  "The  Bee  Hive" — His  Anarchist  Pamplets 
Flood  Trenches — Malvy,  His  Patron — Pacifist  Literature 
Demoralizes  Army — Clemenceau's  Battle  Against  the  Enemy 
Within  72 

CHAPTER  VII 
MME.  THERESE,  ENEMY  AGENT,  VISITS  CAILLAUX 

Asks  Him  to  Meet  Lipscher  and  Discuss  Peace  Terms — Caillaux 
Afraid  of  Assassination — Mme.  Therese  Also  Meets  a 
Soldier  and  Tells  the  Whole  Story 81 

CHAPTER  VIII 
BOLD,  ADVENTURER 

His  Fantastic  Life — A  Charmer  of  Many  Hapless  Women — Mar- 
riage as  a  Fine  Art — His  Sudden  Wealth — How  He  Became 
a  Pacha — Why  He  Was  Drawn  to  Germany — His  Secret 
Meetings  with  Abbas  Hilmi — His  Great  Pacifist  Publicity 
Scheme — German  Bribes — Mme.  Caillaux  and  Bolo. 95 

CHAPTER   IX 

BOLO  FINDS  GERMAN  GOLD  IN  AMERICA 

Sees  Pavenstedt  in  New  York — Pavenstedt  Sees  Von  Bernstoff  In 
Washington — Bernstorff  Wires  Von  Jagow  in  Berlin — Von 
Jagow  Wires  Consent  for  10,000,000  Marks — German  Banks 
with  French  Windows — Bolo  and  Humbert  Visit  King  Al- 
fonso  ,. Ill 

CHAPTER  X 
DUVAL,  MISER,  HYPOCRITE,  PHILOSOPHER 

Reorganizes  the  Bonnet  Rouge  for  Germany — His  Dreams  of  Avar- 
ice— The  San  Stefano  Bubble — Marx,  the  Mannheim  Banker — 
Marx,  the  Enemy  Pay  Master — The  Poison  of  Duval's  Edi- 
torial Irony  135 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XI 
ALMOST  CAUGHT 

Duval's  Trips  to  Switzerland  Arouse  Suspicion — Caillaux  Alarmed 
— Examines  Duval's  Dossier — Marion  Burns  Papers — Mme. 
Duval's  Mind  a  Blank — Duval  Conquered  by  Mile.  Vail — 
His  Gay  Ride  to  Mamers — Marx  and  Caillaux — Marx's 
Handwriting  in  Caillaux's  Safe '..  139 


Almereyda  Gets  Secret  Government  Reports  Revealing  Weakness 
of  General  SarraiPs  Army  ai>  Salonica — Has  Copies  Made — 
He  and  Marion  Go  to  Spain — German  U  Boat  Lies  in  Wait 
at  Carthagina — Germany  Attacks  Roumania — Roumania  is 
Lost .148 


CHAPTER  XIII 
MME.   POZZOLI'S  TELL-TALE   DIARY 

Reveals  Caillaux's  Conferences  With  Cavallini,  Enemy  Agent  and 
Briber — The  Luncheon  at  Larue's — Caillaux's  Italian  Jour- 
ney— His  Plans  of  a  Latin  Alliance — His  Gospel  of  Dispair 
and  Defeat — Yagghen,  Another  Oriental  Pacifier 162 

CHAPTER  XIV 
CAUGHT 

The  Bonnet  Rouge  Gets  Money  from  Marx  by  New  Route — The 
Handy  Vercasson — The  Omniscient  "Gen.  N." — Duval's  New 
Brood  of  Reptiles — Duval's  Last  Trip  to  Switzerland — The 
Fatal  150,000  Franc  Check— Barres  Unclosets  Ghost  Which 
Points  at  Malvy ' 178 

CHAPTER  XV 
THE  "TIGER"  LEAPS 

Clernenceau  Attacks  Malvy  in  Senate — Accuses  Him  of  Betraying 
France — Exposes  Minister  of  Interior  as  Friend  of  Enemy 
Agents — Reveals  Apache  as  Real  Head  of  Police — Almerey- 
da's  Sudden  Death— Was  He  Killed  to  Protect  Others 
More  Powerful?..  .  185 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTEE  XVT 
ALMEREYDA'S    SPECTRE    AROUSES    FRANCE 

Daudet  Calls  Malvy  Traitor — Painleve  Seeks  to  Drop  Scandal — Re- 
plies by  Raids  on  Daudet's  Newspaper — Bolsheviks  Triumph 
in  Russia — France  Beset  with  Perils — Clemenceau  At  Last 
Called  to  Premiership — Demands  Caillaux  Be  Tried 196 

CHAPTER  XVII 
"THE    HALL   OF    LOST    FOOTSTEPS" 

The  Fateful  Chamber  of  Deputies — Caillaux  Fights  His  Accusers 
— Paints  Blackest  Charges  with  All  the  Colors  of  Explana- 
tion— Strikes  at  Clemenceau — Caillaux  Arrested . .  His  New 
Life  Behind  the  Iron  Bars  of  La  Sante 210 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
BOLO,  TRIED  FOR  TREASON 

The  Levantine  Adventurer  Confronted  by  His  "Wives" — The  Last 
Still  Faithful— His  First  Woman  Victim  Tells  Story  of 
Ruined  Life — Bolo  Weeps— Wife  No.  1  Relates  How  She 
Discovered  His  Perfidy — His  Brother,  a  Monsignor,  Pleads 
in  Vain  221 

CHAPTER  XIX 
THE  BONNET  ROUGE  TREASON  UNFOLDED 

Duval,  Marion,  Joucla,  Landau,  Goldsky,  Leymarie,  Vercasson 
Put  on  Trial — Lt.  Mornet  Exposes  All  Their  Plots— Ex- 
plains How  Germany  Used  Them  as  Pawns — Bonnet  Rouge 
Peace  Articles  Identical  With  Those  of  German  Newspapers 
—The  Tragic  Fate  of  Duval 231 

CHAPTER  XX 
MALVY  ESCAPES 

Tried  Before  Senate,  As  High  Court— Confronted  by  Host  of  Wit- 
nesses Who  Reveal  His  Perfidy — Army  Reports  Disclose 
Mutinies  and  Rebellions  Because  of  Pacifists  He  Protected — 
American  Troops  Just  in  Time — Senators  Give  Malvy  Only 
a  Vacation  248 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXI 
THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  ASSUMES  NEW  FORMS 

Peace  Treaty  Signed,  but  War  Continues —  Germany's  Dream  of 
Trade  Conquest — Her  Latest  Propaganda  Plots — The  Orient- 
al League — French  Socialists  Still  Serve  Germany — Berlin 
Stirs  up  Irish  in  America — Big  American  Army  May  Be 
Again  Needed  for  France — The  Franco-American  Treaty — 
At  the  "Door  of  the  Virgin" — Immortal  France 263 

APPENDIX  .  .  285 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

THE  TIGER  PREPARES  FOR  BATTLE        .  .   Frontispiece 

Page 

-I  O 

MME.  CAII/LAUX  .          .«..•!«• 


KA: 

CAILLAUX  .          t.          »*         w         > 


BOLO'S  WurEs    .          .          •         w         i«         - 


DUVAL        ...  i.i  IM  *.i 

ALMEREYDA'S  DEATH  >.,  ..... 

BOLO         ...  1.1  ••:         i«i         '• 

MALVY      .          :.;          •.  ?•:  r»;         »'         *• 


INTRODUCTION 

France  was  almost  destroyed  during  the  last  five  years, 
not  by  German  guns,  but  by  a  moral  plague.  Far  beyond 
the  black  pall  of  the  enemy's  barrage,  far,  far  beyond  the 
range  of  the  most  powerful  Krupp  cannon,  there  were  other, 
invisible  foes  spreading  contagion  everywhere  among  the 
French  people.  It  was  a  pestilence  of  falsehood,  of  hatred, 
of  treason. 

Its  manifestations  were  many  and  most  mysterious.  It 
appeared  in  munition  strikes,  army  mutinies,  the  amazing 
boldness  and  apparently  unrestricted  activity  of  German 
spies;  in  pamphlets  and  newspaper  editorials  constantly 
emphasizing  the  "selfishness"  of  England,  the  "money  mak- 
ing idealism"  of  the  United  States,  the  "impregnability"  of 
Germany,  the  need  of  a  "reapproachment  with  Teuton 
democracy,"  and  most  of  all  the  "blessings  of  an  immediate 
peace." 

Some  of  the  men  who  plotted  these  crimes  were  not  caught 
until  France  was  on  the  brink  of  ruin.  Others,  of  high  sta- 
tion and  mysteriously  potent  political  power,  almost  escaped 
under  a  counterfire  of  recrimination  against  those  who  ex- 
posed them.  For  example,  the  offices  of  one  editor  who  had 
accused  the  head  of  the  police  of  being  a  traitor  were  raided. 
Guns  were  found,  which,  the  police  said,  indicated  a  royalist 
plot.  Later  investigation  showed  that  these  arms  were  heir- 
looms, used  for  decorative  purposes. 

Some  of  the  plotters  have  been  shot  as  traitors.  A  few 
were  caught,  as  it  were,  with  German  gold  still  sticking  to 
their  fingers.  But  the  whole  story  of  this  great  conspiracy, 
a  story  which  involves  not  only  French  police,  but  a  high 

xiii 


INTRODUCTION 

Cabinet  officer,  and  even  a  former  Premier  of  France,  a  story 
that  should  also  be  an  omen  and  a  warning  to  every  American 
citizen,  has  never  yet  been  told. 

The  reader  may  ask: 

"How  can  this  be  an  omen  and  a  warning  to  the  United 
States?" 

Because  France  and  the  United  States  have  been  built 
upon  the  same  civic  foundations. 

Because  in  their  democratic  form  of  government  individual 
liberty  may  be  easily  abused  by  the  political  charlatan,  the 
ignorant  social  agitator,  or  the  paid  agent  of  a  foreign  foe. 
Too  often,  as  we  Americans  well  know,  has  freedom  of  speech 
been  made  the  mouthpiece  of  demagogism  and  the  mask  of 
treason. 

Furthermore,  the  ultimate  triumph  of  France  over  her 
enemies  both  within  and  without  should  cheer  and  hearten 
every  American  who  has  faith  in  democratic  institutions. 
In  this  story  the  reader  will  see  how  one  leader  after  another 
rose  among  the  French  to  free  them  from  the  traitors  in 
their  midst;  and  each  failed  until  the  strongest  man  of  all 
emerged  in  the  person  of  Georges  Clemenceau,  the  last  War 
Premier  of  France. 

The  forces  of  social  disruption  in  France  were  the  same 
which  wrecked  Russia,  the  same  which  even  now  are  at  work 
in  this  country,  fomenting  class  hatred,  plotting  bomb  outr 
rages,  seeking  in  every  insidious  and  devious  way  to  tear 
down  the  social  structure  to  wb;eh  they  contributed  nothing, 
but  out  of  the  destruction  of  which  they  hope  to  gain  all. 

Even  before  the  war  Germany  fostered  in  France  the  kind 
of  socialism  which  became  Bolshevism  in  Russia.  The 
Berlin  foreign  office  had  thus  planned  to  weaken  the  French 
morale  to  such  a  degree  that  the  German  armies  on  breaking 
through  Belgium  would  find  a  foe  divided  against  itself.  Tn 
such  an  analysis  of  the  French  character,  German  psychology 

X1Y 


INTRODUCTION 

showed  itself  as  obtuse  as  in  trying  to  terrify  England  with 
Zeppelin  raids. 

Nevertheless,  Germany  laid  her  plans  with  thorough  Ger- 
man thoroughness.  She  sought  to  dominate  the  French 
bureaucracy  by  building  up  a  political  machine  which  would 
work  for  the  abandonment  of  the  Triple  Entente,  the  isola- 
tion of  England  and  a  new  alliance  with  Germany.  At  the 
head  of  this  party  Joseph  Caillaux  rose  to  great  power ;  and 
beside  him,  always  obedient  to  his  master's  wishes,  was  Louis 
Malvy. 

Caillaux,  the  arch  German  conspirator,  might  have  been 
master  of  France  when  the  war  broke  and  the  Huns  began 
marching  on  Paris  had  it  not  been  for  the  fear  and  hate  of 
a  woman.  Gaston  Calmette,  editor  of  the  Figaro,  was  seek- 
ing to  expose  Caillaux,  his  German  plots  and  counterplots, 
but  before  he  could  drive  home  the  final  blow  the  wife  of 
Caillaux  lay  in  wait  for  the  editor  in  his  office  and  shot  him 
dead. 

Caillaux  was  forced  to  quit  political  office.  Malvy  re- 
mained. Both  continued  to  work  together  and  their  power 
seemed  very  little  shaken.  Malvy,  as  Minister  of  the  Inte- 
rior and  head  of  the  police  and  secret  service,  continued  on 
in  the  war  cabinet  of  Viviani,  the  coalition  cabinet  of  Briand, 
the  centralized  cabinet  of  Ribot.  Meanwhile  the  pestilence 
grew.  The  police  seemed  blind.  Spies  and  enemies  went  and 
came  without  molestation.  Circulars  were  distributed  among 
the  soldiers  urging  them  to  quit  fighting  and  insist  on  an 
immediate  peace.  Complaints  were  made  to  Malvy,  and  the 
complaints  were  pigeonholed. 

Leon  Daudet,  editor  of  Ly  Action  Franfaise,  openly 
accused  Malvy  of  being  a  traitor.  Other  journalists  and 
political  leaders  attacked  Malvy  for  permitting  the  most 
/awless  elements  of  society  to  spread  contagion  throughout 
the  country,  but  Malvy's  power  was  so  great  that  he  paid  no 
heed.  Even  when  it  was  known  that  Malvy's  own  private 


INTRODUCTION 

office  was  the  rendezvous  of  Almeyreda,  editor  of  the  pacifist 
Bonnet  Rouge,  an  ex-convict,  leader  of  a  band  of  apaches 
hired  by  Caillaux  during  the  trial  of  his  wife ;  yes,  even  when 
it  was  proved  that  this  desperado  was  preventing  the  arrest 
of  enemy  aliens  and  getting  them  out  of  concentration  camps, 
Malvy  still  possessed  enough  influence  to  persuade  Premier 
Painleve  to  drop  further  investigation. 

Then  the  storm  broke. 

Painleve  was  forced  out. 

Clemenceau,  who  had  attacked  Malvy  in  a  memorable 
speech  before  the  Senate  on  July  22,  1917,  assumed  the  reins 
of  government.  Caillaux  was  arrested  and  sent  to  join  his 
fellow  conspirators  in  the  prison  of  Sante.  Spies  and 
agitators  were  rounded  up  throughout  France,  and  a  broad 
trail  of  German  intrigue  and  corruption  was  uncovered, 
which  led  from  Paris  to  Berlin  by  way  of  Switzerland  and 
New  York. 

Then,  and  not  till  then,  did  the  ravages  of  the  pestilence 
begin  to  abate.  They  have  not  ceased.  The  seeds  were  sown 
too  deep.  The  roots  are  still  alive.  Malvy  was  condemned, 
but  his  punishment  was  almost  an  apology.  He  was  per- 
mitted to  retain  his  citizenship.  He  was  only  exiled  for 
five  years.  When  he  left  Paris  for  San  Sebastian,  Spain, 
on  August  12,  1918,  a  deputation  from  the  General  Labor 
Federation  and  Radical  Socialist  party  raised  the  cry: 

"Vive  Malvy!" 

When  I  was  in  Paris,  as  investigator  and  correspondent, 
both  before  and  during  the  Peace  Conference,  I  learned  from 
various  officials  how  France  had  fought  an  enemy  within  as 
well  as  without.  It  was  a  story  which  filled  me  with  a  new 
admiration  for  the  French.  It  proved  that  the  French,  as 
a  people,  possess  the  same  heroism  as  their  soldiers,  and  can 
keep  on  fighting  despite  their  wounds. 

The  trials  of  the  chief  traitors  particularly  impressed  me. 
They  seemed  object  lessons,  which  all,  who  live  in  republics, 

xvi 


INTRODUCTION 

should  know  and  understand.  They  taught  a  moral,  which  I 
felt  it  my  duty  to  bring  back  to  the  United  States.  They 
revealed  how  corrupt  politicians  and  demogogue  editors  can 
work  unspeakable  evil,  if  they  are  able  to  use  class  hatred 
as  a 'shield  as  well  as  a  sword. 

Take  the  Malvy  case,  for  example.  At  first  it  appeared 
to  me  amazing  that  Malvy,  who  was  finally  exposed  as  one 
of  the  worst  foes  of  France,  could  remain  in  the  war  cabinets 
of  three  successive  Premiers.  On  inquiry  I  learned  that  Malvy 
stayed  in  power,  because  of  the  blind  support  of  the  Radical 
Socialists  and  the  politicial  patronage  of  Caillaux.  Each 
Premier,  until  Clemenceau  assumed  control,  believed  he  had 
to  keep  Malvy  to  pacify  the  socialists,  who  met  all  criticism 
of  their  Minister  of  the  Interior  with  the  reply : 

"The  capitalists  want  to  throw  him  out  to  seize  everything 
for  themselves.  They  cannot  fool  us  with  their  lies.  Malvy 
must  stay,  because  he  represents  the  proletariat." 

Many  a  politician  and  many  an  editor  has  attained  great 
power  in  the  United  States  by  exploiting  class  hatred.  And 
even  in  these  perilous  times,  although  they  are  laying  the 
match  of  Bolshevism  and  revolution  at  the  very  door  of  our 
American  institutions,  the  same  politicians  and  editors  are 
still  raising  the  same  cry.  Not  a  few  are  preaching  the  pro- 
paganda of  Germany's  own  agents  in  France,  England  and 
the  other  Allied  countries  of  the  Old  World.  They  are 
cursing  the  Peace  Conference,  excoriating  President  Wilson, 
tearing  the  peace  treaty  to  bits,  condemning  the  League  of 
Nations,  as  a  delusion  and  a  snare,  spreading  racial  hatreds 
among  the  Irish,  the  Egyptians,  the  Hindus  and  the  Moors. 

In  the  meantime,  Germany's  industrial  and  commercial 
machinery,  uninjured  by  the  war,  is  preparing  to  reconquer 
the  markets  of  the  world. 

Let  us  search  for  the  enemy  within  our  own  gates.  Let 
us  not  wait  too  long,  as  France  almost  did. 

The  facts  in  this  book  are  based  upon  official  documents 

xvii 


INTRODUCTION 

of  the  French  government.  In  my  work  I  found  of  great 
value  the  assistance  of  Gustave  Geffroy,  President  of  the 
Academy  Goncourt,  the  lifelong  friend  and  biographer  of 
Clemenceau ;  George  Adam,  Paris  correspondent  of  the  Lon- 
don Times;  and  the  editors  of  Les  Proces  de  Trahison  and 
their  reviews  of  the  evidence  at  the  trials  of  Bolo,  Malvy  and 
the  Bonnet  Rouge  plotters.  I  also  wish  to  thank  Noel  Dor- 
ville,  the  Paris  illustrator;  and  I.  Moncayo,  the  New  York 
artist,  for  the  pictures,  with  which  these  pages  have  been 
illuminated, 


xvm 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 


The  brotherhood  of  America  and 
France  was  born  in  the  War  of  In- 
dependence. It  has  never  been  ob- 
scured since.  It  has  found  its  final 
consecration  in  the  great  fight  we 
have  just  fought  shoulder  to  shoulder 
for  the  liberty  of  the  world.  It  will 
keep  all  its  strength  in  the  future  and 
contribute  to  consolidate,  in  the  in- 
terest of  humanity,  the  peace  which 
has  been  established,  at  the  cost  of 
so  many  sacrifices,  by  the  defenders 
of  right. 

President  Poincare 

(Message  to  the  Lafayette  Day  Com- 
mittee of  New  York,  Sept.  6,  1919) 


XX 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

CHAPTER  I 
A  WOMAN'S  CRIME  SAVED  FBANCE 

Why  Mme.  Caillaux  Killed  Gaston  Calmette — CaUlaux's 
Antebellum  Alliance  with  Germany — The  First  Seeds  of 
the  Pestilence — Caittaux,  Forced  out  of  Cabinet  by  Wife's 
Mad  Act,  Continued  to  Plot  against  France — CaiUaux's 
Minions  of  the  Underworld — His  Secret  Love  Plottings 

The  clocks  of  Paris  were  striking  the  noon  hour. 

It  was  March  16,  1914,  a  little  more  than  four  months 
before  the  world  war.  The  city  lay  peacefully  beneath  the 
warm  spring  sunshine,  through  which  a  few  stray  clouds 
drifted  lazily. 

Crowds  overflowed  the  sidewalks  of  the  narrow  side-streets 
and  poured  into  the  boulevards  in  ever  broadening  streams. 
Shops  and  offices  were  deserted,  for  all  Paris  goes  to  dejeu- 
ner at  twelve  and  does  not  return  to  work  until  two.  The 
richer  storekeeper  seeks  a  chair  on  the  sidewalk  in  front  of 
his  favorite  cafe.  The  more  thrifty  clerk  jumps  a  motor  bus 
or  a  subway  train  and  travels  all  the  way  home  to  dine  with 
wife  and  family.  The  laborer  seats  himself  in  a  public 
square,  and  over  his  dinner  pail  and  a  bottle  of  red  wine 
discusses  socialism. 

Peaceful  though  Paris  seemed,  nevertheless  she  was  already 
undermined  by  the  enemy.  Foes  within  and  without  had 
planned  her  doom.  The  spirit  of  murder,  of  force,  of  abso- 
lutism was  already  abroad  in  France;  and  the  first  tragedy 
of  the  millions  of  tragedies  of  the  war  was  about  to  be  en- 
acted that  very  day  and  hour. 


2  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Through  the  noonday  crowds  a  great,  black  limousine 
pushed  its  way  impatiently.  Tasselled  curtains  of  delicate 
pink  almost  hid  the  man  and  woman  within.  The  two  were 
talking  excitedly.  Their  faces  reflected  the  same  deathlike 
pallor.  They  were  no  other  than  Joseph  Caillaux,  Minister 
of  Finance,  the  most  powerful  political  leader  in  France, 
and  his  wife. 

The  car  was  now  crossing  the  Seine  by  the  Pont  de  la 
Concorde.  Ahead  arose  the  obelisk  in  the  Place  de  la 
Concorde,  where  the  public  guillotine  once  stood,  where  ret- 
ribution and  death  were  meted  out  for  those  who  in  the  past 
had  plotted  against  France.  Past  the  gaunt  pillar,  and  on 
through  the  Rue  Royale,  where  the  victims  of  the  Revolution 
were  carried  in  tumbrels  to  the  place  of  execution,  the  auto- 
mobile hurried  still  faster.  Caillaux  continued  talking  with 
even  more  frenzied  gestures. 

"Then  you  were  unable  to  find  anyone  who  could  stop 
Calmette?"  he  cried,  taking  his  wife's  hands,  which  she  had 
dropped  helplessly  in  his,  and  pressing  them  to  his  face. 

"No  one,  no  one,"  she  answered  in  hardly  more  than  a 
moan.  "All  say  the  same  thing.  Calmette  will  not  stop.  The 
Figaro  tomorrow,  they  say,  will  publish  private  papers, 
taken  from  your  desk,  which  will  drive  you  out  of  France." 

"They  are  our  love  letters — oh,  God,  they  are  our  love 
letters.  He  is  seeking  your  ruin  as  well  as  mine." 

"Then  what  are  you  going  to  do?" 

"I  will  kill  him!"  exclaimed  Caillaux,  clasping  her  hands 
still  tighter. 

"When,  when?"  she  asked  convulsively. 

"In  my  own  time,"  he  replied. 

They  reached  home  and  sat  down  to  their  dejewner. 
They  were  alone  in  the  great  dining  room.  They  kept 
talking  always  of  the  same  thing.  From  fa.cts  since  ob- 
tained by  various  governmental  investigations,  it  is  now 
possible  to  picture  this  fateful  scene. 


9 

Caillaux  at  that  very  hour  was  planning  to  become  the 
Lenine  of  France.  He  had  been  in  league  with  Germany  for 
years,  working  always  in  the  interest  of  the  Kaiser  and  in 
co-operation  with  the  Kaiser's  agents.  He  had  been  building 
up  a  socialist  party  in  France,  which  practically  controlled 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  and  which  contained  leaders  ready 
to  set  France  aflame  with  a  Bolshevist  revolution  as  soon  as 
Berlin  gave  the  command. 

For  two  months  Gaston  Calmette  had  been  attacking 
Caillaux  in  the  columns  of  the  Figaro.  The  assaults  were 
becoming  fiercer  and  fiercer  each  day.  Up  to  that  time  the 
private,  the  domestic  life  of  Caillaux  had  been  allowed  to 
remain  in  the  background  of  the  fight.  Only  the  machina- 
tions of  Caillaux  in  high  finance  and  in  politics  were  being 
laid  bare  to  public  view,  and  with  only  the  avowed  purpose 
of  proving  to  the  French  people  that  Caillaux  was  a  wolf  in 
sheep's  clothing,  and  that  underneath  all  he  was  the  worst 
foe  of  France.  Calmette  pictured  Caillaux  as  a  liar,  grafter, 
blackmailer,  thief ;  and  produced  a  mass  of  evidence  to  prove 
his  charges. 

Again  and  again  the  editor  of  the  Figaro  also  pointed  to 
Caillaux  as  the  secret  ally  of  Germany.  He  repeated  the 
accusation  that  Caillaux,  when  Prime  Minister  in  1911  dur- 
ing the  Agadir  embroglio,  clandestinely  negociated  a  treaty 
with  Germany,  by  which  she  lost  to  Germany  a  vast  tract  in 
the  French  Congo  and  other  vital  interests. 

Caillaux  had  heard  this  very  day  that  Calmette  had  ob- 
tained possession  of  two  other  documents,  which  proved  still 
more  conclusively  his  alliance  with  Germany.  It  was  the 
publication  of  these  papers,  which  he  dreaded  most. 

At  the  luncheon  table,  however,  he  talked  about  love 
letters.  Three  days  before,  on  March  13,  Calmette  printed 
a  letter,  which  Caillaux  had  written  his  second  wife  before 
their  marriage,  signed  "Thy  Jo."  The  editor  explained  that 
he  did  not  intend  to  begin  the  exposure  of  Caillaux's  home 


4  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

life,  and  only  used  the  letter  to  illustrate  the  hypocrisy  of 
Caillaux's  statesmanship.     In  this  letter  Caillaux  wrote: 

"I  was  compelled  to  endure  two  trying  sittings  of  the 
Chamber.  However,  I  scored  the  finest  success,  and  demol- 
ished the  income  tax,  while  apparently  defending  it.  I 
earned  applause  from  the  Centre  and  Right,  and  yet  did 
not  displease  the  Left  too  greatly.  I  succeeded  in  giving  a 
turn  of  the  helm  to  the  Right,  which  was  indispensable." 

Of  letters  Caillaux  kept  talking,  of  other  letters  which 
would  disclose  the  scandal  in  his  own  household,  of  the 
skeletons  in  his  own  closets,  which  he  said  the  Figaro  would 
soon  drag  out  and  parade  for  public  view.  It  was  a  sub- 
ject well  adapted  to  arouse  the  hate  and  fury  of  a  woman. 

Of  his  first  wife  he  spoke,  of  Mine.  Gueydan,  whom  he  had 
divorced  for  the  woman  opposite  him.  Always  referring  to 
the  earlier  Mme.  Caillaux,  as  "she,"  he  continued: 

''She  has  given  Calmette  the  photographs  of  our  love  let- 
ters. As  I  have  told  you,  she  burned  the  originals.  When 
I  found  she  had  discovered  them  in  my  desk,  I  promised  I 
would  give  you  up,  if  she  would  destroy  them." 

There  was  only  a  moan  in  reply,  and  Caillaux  continued : 

"She  did  not  believe  me.  She  made  photographic  copies. 
Calmette  has  them.  He  intends  to  ruin  you  as  well  as  me." 

What  the  wife  said  is  not  known.  After  her  husband  left 
home  with  the  remark  that  there  was  a  most  important 
meeting  of  the  Finance  Committee  of  the  Senate,  which  he 
did  not  feel  like  attending,  and  that  he  must  find  a  deputy 
to  take  his  place,  Mme.  Caillaux  went  to  her  boudoir  and 
donned  the  simplest  kind  of  street  dress.  A  moment  later 
she  was  in  her  automobile. 

That  evening  the  Italian  Ambassador  was  to  be  the  host 
of  a  state  dinner  at  the  Italian  Embassy.  The  following 
Monday  night,  Mme.  Caillaux  had  planned  a  banquet  to 
which  many  of  the  same  guests  had  been  invited.  Despite 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  5 

the  tragic  thoughts  with  which  her  mind  was  racked,  she 
did  not  forget  the  preparations  for  this  banquet.  Her  first 
stop  was  at  an  employment  agency,  where  she  hired  a 
cook.  From  there  she  went  to  a  gun  store.  The  first  re- 
volver she  lifted  was  too  heavy.  With  a  lighter  one  she 
fired  several  shots  at  a  target. 

"This  is  what  I  want,"  she  remarked  in  a  rather  indiffer- 
ent manner;  and  putting  the  pistol  in  her  muff,  she  left  the 
store. 

On  returning  home,  she  dressed  again,  this  time  in 
most  elaborate  costume.  Her  mind  appeared  perfectly  calm. 
She  seemed  to  be  in  not  the  slightest  hurry.  After  attend- 
ing to  various,  little  home  duties,  she  went  to  her  boudoir 
desk,  read  some  old  letters  and  wrote  the  following  note : 

"My  beloved  husband :  When  I  told  you  this  morning  of 
my  interview  with  President  Monier,  who  informed  me  that 
we  have  in  France  no  law  to  protect  us  against  the  calumnies 
of  the  press,  you  said  to  me  that  one  of  these  days  you  would 
smash  the  face  of  the  ignoble  Calmette.  I  realized  that  your 
decision  was  irrevocable.  My  resolve  was  then  made,  .  .  . 
I  shall  do  justice.  France  and  the  Republic  need  you. 

"I  will  do  the  deed. 

"If  this  letter  reaches  you,  you  will  know  that  I  have  done, 
or  tried  to  do  justice.  Forgive  me,  but  my  patience  is 
exhausted. 

"I  love  and  embrace  you  from  the  depths  of  my  heart. 

"Your  Henriette." 

(Fernand  Monier,  President  of  the  Tribunal  of  the  Seine, 
later  denied  he  had  ever  made  such  a  statement.) 

Folding  the  envelope,  Mme.  Caillaux  called  for  Miss  Bax- 
ter, the  English  governess  of  the  Caillaux  menage,  and  said 
quietly : 

"If  I  do  not  return  home  by  seven,  give  this  to  my  hus- 


6  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

band.  But  be  sure  and  do  not  give  it  to  him  before  then.'* 
As  if  to  remind  her  mistress,  the  governess  replied: 

''The  dinner  at  the  Italian  Embassy  is  tonight,  Madame." 

"No,  no,  I  am  not  going.  My  husband  will  understand.  I 
am  sending  his  evening  clothes  to  his  office." 

Mme.  Caillaux  again  entered  her  limousine.  She  drove 
directly  to  the  office  of  the  Figaro.  Calmette  was  not  in. 
She  said  she  would  wait. 

"It  is  not  necessary  to  give  my  name,"  was  her  answer  to 
the  persistent  office  boy. 

While  Mme.  Caillaux  was  waiting,  her  face  buried  in  her 
furs,  her  body  bent  forward,  almost  crouching,  that  she 
might  even  hide  the  muff  that  held  the  revolver,  the  com- 
positors nearby  were  putting  into  type  the  last  Caillaux 
exposure. 

It  was  the  copy  of  a  report  made  by  Public  Prosecutor 
Fabre,  to  the  effect  that  M.  Monis,  Premier  at  that  time, 
had  been  requested  by  Caillaux  to  postpone  the  trial  of 
Rochette,  the  notorious  swindler.  By  such  delay  the  charges 
against  Rochette  would  be  outlawed. 

Men  came  and  men  went.  Among  them  were  a  florid  faced 
individual  who  evidenced  prosperity  not  only  by  his  diamond 
cuff  links,  but  an  aggravated  accumulation  of  fat  beneath 
the  ears ;  and  a  wiry,  nervous  man,  evidently  a  poor  relation 
of  the  other,  who  felt  it  necessary  to  keep  talking  to  prove 
his  appreciation  of  his  patron's  society. 

"I  read  every  word  of  the  Caillaux  articles,"  said  the  old 
man.  "I  think  the  Figaro  has  already  proved  that  he  ought 
to  be  shot.  Why,  take  that  Prieu  case.  I  kept  a  clipping 
of  that.  Here,  I'll  read  it  to  you." 

The  fat  man  was  so  nearly  asleep  from  the  effect  of  some 
rare  old  wine  he  had  swallowed  with  his  dejeuner,  that  he 
failed  to  interrupt.  The  old  man,  taking  this  silence  as  a 
good  omen,  continued: 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  7 

"Here  it  is.  From  the  Figaro  of  January  8.  The  article 
is  called,  'The  Secret  Deals  of  M.  Caillaux.'  " 

Looking  up  from  the  clipping,  the  old  man  said: 

"The  point  is  this.  Pierre  Prieu  was  a  French  merchant 
who  went  to  Brazil  in  the  seventies.  He  had  thirteen  vessels 
down  there,  which  Brazil  seized.  The  Brazilians  thought 
the  ships  were  smugglers.  Prieu  put  in  a  claim  against  the 
Brazilian  government.  France  took  over  the  claim  and  tried 
to  collect.  Prieu  said  the  French  government  got  from 
Brazil  in  1876,  15,000,000  francs.  Prieu  tried  to  get  this 
money  from  France,  but  couldn't.  From  1878  to  1899  he 
kept  fighting  for  his  money,  but  never  could  get  it.  His 
direct  heir  thinking  the  claim  was  lost,  assigned  it  to  some 
relatives  and  friends,  who  formed  a  syndicate." 

The  little  woman  across  the  room  bent  still  further  over 
her  muff.  The  old  man  did  not  see  the  burning  eyes  behind 
the  veil. 

"Well,  here  is  where  Caillaux  saw  a  chance  to  get  some 
more  loose  gold.  No  wonder  he's  one  of  the  richest  men  in 
France.  They  formed  a  syndicate,  I  said,  Fonville,  Boileau, 
and  Sauvage ;  and  they  hired  Auguste  Schneider  to  represent 
them.  Schneider  saw  Caillaux,  and  Caillaux  saw  the  heirs. 
Caillaux  said  he  had  looked  up  the  matter,  and  he  thought 
the  heirs  should  get  their  money,  but  he  added: 

"  'If  you  get  money,  we  shall  get  money.'  The  next  day, 
Caillaux  said  that  he  wanted  80  per  cent." 

Taking  up  the  clipping  the  old  man  read  as  follows : 

"These  are  the  impudent  means  which  the  Finance  Min- 
ister of  the  French  Republic  dares  to  employ  to  obtain  the 
war  funds  for  his  political  ends.  He  takes  from  the  pockets 
of  tax  payers  the  millions  which  he  grants  in  his  omnipotence 
to  the  holders  of  a  claim  refused  for  nearly  thirty  years,  and 
he  imposes  the  formal  and  sole  condition  that  they  place  at 
his  disposal  part  of  the  sum  for  his  election  expenses  or  his 
newspapers." 


8 

With  almost  a  cry,  the  woman  opposite  rose  from  her 
seat.  Again  she  pleaded  with  the  office  boy.  "Please  tell 
me,  when  do  you  think  M.  Calmette  will  come?" 

"Any  time  now,"  was  the  laconic  reply. 

The  fat  man  did  not  stir,  and  the  old  man  continued  : 

"Well,  that's  true.  Calmette  got  the  statements  of  the 
heirs  to  prove  it. 

"Then  there  was  that  Credit  Egyptien  case.  I  understood 
he  made  a  separate  fortune  out  of  that.  Caillaux,  as  Minis- 
ter of  Finance,  wrote  the  President  of  the  Council,  in  De- 
cember, 1908,  I  think,  that  the  Credit  Foncier  Egyptien,  a 
big  financial  institution,  with  head  offices  in  Cairo,  should  not 
be  permitted  to  place  its  notices  in  the  bulletins  of  the 
Journal  Officiel.  Later  through  M.  Spitzer,  a  banker  of 
international  power,  Caillaux  was  made  President  of  the 
administrative  council  of  the  Credit  Foncier  Egyptien,  at  a 
big  salary.  Then,  and  not  till  then  were  the  800,000 
shares  of  the  Credit  Foncier  Egyptien  authorized  by  Cail- 
laux." 

As  if  scenting  her  prey,  Mme.  Caillaux  leaped  from  her 
chair.  "M.  Calmette  has  just  gone  into  his  office,"  she 
whispered  to  the  office  boy.  "Here  is  my  card." 

The  boy  took  one  look,  and  jumped  back.  Then,  slowly, 
and  still  staring  at  the  card,  turning  it  over  and  over,  and 
still  staring  at  it,  he  disappeared  through  the  door  of  the 
inner  office. 

There  was  a  companion  seated  near  Calmette,  as  the  boy 
entered. 

"What!  Mme.  Caillaux?"  exclaimed  the  editor.  Looking 
again  at  the  card,  he  passed  it  to  his  friend,  who  tossed  it 
back  with  the  warning: 

"By  all  means  don't  see  her." 

*'No,"  replied  Calmette.  "I  cannot  refuse  to  see  any 
woman  who  comes  to  my  office.  Bring  her  in." 

Her  head  still  bent  forward,  her  hands  still  in  her  muff, 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  9 

Mme.  Caillaux  entered.  As  Calmette  was  closing  the  door, 
she  fired.  The  editor  fell  dying.  As  he  was  borne  from  his 
office,  he  gave  one  of  the  staff  of  the  Figaro  his  keys,  pocket 
book  and  papers,  among  which  were  the  documents,  that 
contained  the  details  of  Caillaux's  secret  pact  with  Germany. 
These  papers,  as  Calmette  once  told  M.  Bailby,  editor  of 
Ulntransigeant,  he  always  carried  on  his  person. 

"Take  good  care  of  them,"  said  Calmette.  "Make  it  clear 
that  I  have  done  my  duty." 

The  tragedy  aroused  a  storm  of  controversy  throughout 
France.  Despite  the  faithful  support  of  most  of  his  social- 
ist followers,  Caillaux  was  forced  to  quit  the  Cabinet.  He 
handed  his  letter  of  resignation  to  Premier  Doumergue  the 
very  next  morning  after  the  murder. 

A  woman's  crime  saved  France.  If  Caillaux  had  remained 
in  the  Cabinet  when  the  Germans  were  marching  on  Paris 
four  and  a  half  months  later,  the  city  finally  might  have 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  commune  with  Caillaux  at  its 
head.  Proof  that  he  plotted  a  dictatorship  will  be  presented 
in  a  later  chapter. 

The  Master  Mind  behind  the  Great  Conspiracy,  however, 
was  by  no  means  without  power  or  resources.  The  reorgan- 
ized Cabinet  still  contained  Louis  Malvy,  for  long  years  his 
faithful  henchman.  Malvy  would  have  been  the  Trotsky  of 
France,  had  Caillaux  been  its  Lenine.  Both  had  worked  to- 
gether in  building  the  Radical  Socialist  Party  into  a  tre- 
mendously powerful  political  machine.  Both  spent  vast  sums 
for  newspaper  publicity  and  propaganda  of  all  kinds.  And 
into  the  treasuries  of  many  of  these  same  newspapers  there 
also  flowed  a  constant  stream  of  German  gold. 

For  a  time  Caillaux  appeared  to  believe  that  he  could 
overcome  the  tide  of  hostile  criticism,  and  that  if  he  were 
successful  in  obtaining  the  acquittal  of  his  wife,  he  might 
step  back  into  the  Cabinet.  At  all  events  he  began  a  care- 


10  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

fully  organized  campaign  to  arouse  public  sympathy  for  his 
wife,  to  foment  hatred  for  Calmette,  to  portray  him  in  the 
newspapers  which  he  controlled  as  a  contemptible  dog,  that 
would  even  tear  open  a  woman's  heart  with  its  fangs. 

Knowing  too  well  the  hysteria  of  the  mob,  that  it  may  be 
fanned  into  a  fury  or  excited  to  laughter  and  ridicule  by 
sheer  stage  play,  he  hired  a  number  of  Apaches  to  attend  the 
trials  of  his  wife  and  applaud  or  jeer  at  the  command  of 
their  leader.  Another  duty  of  this  gang  was  to  accompany 
Caillaux  on  various  occasions  as  a  bodyguard.  So  bold  did 
the  band  become,  that  it  soon  acquired  the  sobriquet  of  "the 
Corsican  Guard." 

Its  chieftain  was  Almereyda,  an  Apache,  who  at  eighteen 
entered  prison,  a  thief,  and  who  came  out,  an  anarchist. 
Ever  after  that  his  life  had  been  a  succession  of  clashes  with 
the  police,  arrests  and  imprisonments,  amours  and  sprees, 
the  plots  of  an  assassin  and  the  counter  plots  of  a  stool 
pigeon. 

Almereyda  was  usually  to  be  found  in  the  more  exclusive 
cafes,  which  bore  the  names  of  French  patriots,  but  were 
owned  and  managed  by  Germans.  In  many  of  these  resorts 
the  Berlin  spy  system  had  its  various  places  of  rendezvous 
in  Paris ;  for  at  this  time  Germany  had  become  so  bold,  so 
confident  of  her  grip  on  French  politics,  French  finance, 
French  opinion,  that  her  agents  worked  without  any  appar- 
ent fear  of  detection. 

In  these  same  haunts  Almereyda  ate  and  drank,  most  fre- 
quently with  some  woman  of  the  demi-monde,  and  always  with 
a  full  purse. 

This  then  was  the  kind  of  man,  whom  Caillaux  hired  to 
organize  his  Corsican  Guard,  his  claque  for  the  court  room, 
his  mercenaries  for  various  secret  errands  and  mysterious 
missions,  which  later  were  discovered  by  government  officials 
to  be  the  errands  and  the  missions  of  German  spies. 

Despite   the   ugly   character   of   most   of  his    associates, 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  11 

Almereyda  believed  himself  a  thorough  scholar  and  gentle- 
man. He  had  been  connected  with  various  anarchistic, 
socialistic  journals,  and  frequently  confessed  his  desire  to 
immortalize  his  name  with  a  series  of  novels  based  on  the 
next  revolution,  which  he  said  would  overthrow  the  pluto- 
crats of  France  within  the  next  few  years.  Yet  he  took  the 
money  and  did  the  bidding  of  the  plutocrat  of  plutocrats, 
Joseph  Caillaux. 

His  lean  face,  in  a  frame  of  long,  dishevelled  hair,  his 
wild,  burning  eyes,  his  nervous  lips  were  those  of  a  genius, 
which  had  been  cursed  by  some  unexplainably  sinister  in- 
fluence. 

During  these  same  fateful  months  of  April,  May,  June 
and  July,  1914,  Caillaux  was  also  unusually  active  in  the 
direction  of  various  campaigns  of  the  Radical  Socialist 
party,  which  looked  to  a  reapproachment  of  France  with 
Germany  and  a  curtailment  of  the  French  military  system. 
Both  movements  are  now  known  to  have  originated  in 
Berlin.  One  was  to  allay  all  French  suspicion  of  Germany's 
war  designs ;  the  other,  to  render  France  helpless  when  the 
Germans  were  finally  ready  to  attack. 

At  the  Congress  at  Pau,  the  preceding  October,  the 
Radical  Socialists  not  only  made  Caillaux  president  for  the 
ensuing  year,  but  they  adopted  the  policy  of  reducing  the 
term  of  the  compulsory  army  service  from  three  to  two 
years.  When  the  first  echoes  of  conflict  were  heard  in  the 
Balkans,  there  were  many  French  socialists  who  began  to 
realize  the  danger.  They  protested  against  the  Caillaux  plan 
of  weakening  France,  when  at  the  same  time  Germany  and 
Austria  were  bending  every  effort  toward  larger  and  more 
powerful  armaments. 

Viviani  was  one  of  these  socialists,  who  rebelled  against 
crippling  the  French  army.  After  Caillaux's  followers  had 
cried,  "Down  with  the  three  years'  service,"  at  the  time  when 
Premier  Ribot  sought  to  make  it  a  part  of  his  programme, 


12  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Viviani  continued  the  fight  and  finally  succeeded  in  defeating 
the  pacifists  and  forming  a  Cabinet  committed  to  the  prin- 
ciple of  preparedness. 

At  last,  on  June  20,  less  than  a  fortnight  before  the  war, 
Mme.  Caillaux  was  brought  to  trial.  Long  before  the  hour, 
a  hooting,  jostling  crowd  surged  hither  and  thither  in  front 
of  the  great  columns  of  the  Palais  de  Justice.  The  great 
court  room  was  quickly  filled,  and  then  numberless  people 
for  whom  there  was  no  room  kept  jamming  their  way  in. 
The  place  seethed  with  excitement. 

Every  class,  every  type  of  French  society  was  there.  The 
exquisitely  dressed  royalist,  barbered  and  manicured  as  for  a 
dinner  party ;  the  newly  rich  bourgeois,  aggressive  in  cos- 
tume, speech,  and  gesture,  to  emphasize  his  belief  in  his  own 
success  in  the  world ;  the  student  from  the  Latin  quarter  with 
long  hair  and  great,  black,  fantastically  knotted  neck  tie ;  the 
socialist  labor  leader,  always  arguing  with  somebody ;  the 
delicately  perfumed,  bejewelled,  silken  lady  of  the  ambassa- 
dorial set ;  the  gross,  painted,  bleached,  Montmartre  cabaret 
singer ;  all  were  there. 

In  tight  fitting  cutaway  Caillaux  moved  from  place  to 
place,  like  a  stage  director.  He  had  even  more  than  his 
ordinary  dash  and  forcefulness.  Short,  fat,  bald,  he  looked, 
when  at  ease,  like  some  prosperous  and  not  over  intellectual 
tradesman ;  but  in  action  his  speech  and  movement  evidenced 
great  mental  power,  the  power  to  think  and  to  act  quickly, 
to  command  and  to  enforce  obedience. 

Another  crowd,  even  more  motley  than  the  one  within, 
clung  to  the  entrance  and  the  great  enclosure  in  front  of  the 
building,  waiting  to  see  Mme.  Caillaux  arrive  from  the  Con- 
ciergerie.  Thither  she  had  been  transferred  the  day  before 
from  St.  Lazare  prison.  And  there  she  had  been  placed  in  a 
large,  roomy  cell,  not  far  from  where  Marie  Antoinette  once 
awaited  trial  and  death. 

A  moving  picture  man,  who  had  climbed  one  of  the  statues 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  13 

of  the  facade  to  find  a  good  point  of  vantage,  caught  a 

signal  from  a  gendarme  inside  and  shouted: 

"They  are  taking  her  in  by  a  hidden  passage." 
Whereupon  the  crowd  yelled  and  hooted  in  a  frenzy  of 

disappointment. 

As  soon  as  the  prisoner  entered  the  court  room,  a  storm 
of  applause  and  handclappings  burst  upon  her,  which  made 
her  seem  to  shrink  into  herself  all  the  more.  She  crouched 
in  her  chair,  until  Judge  Albanel  after  the  perfunctory  pre- 
liminaries began  to  question  her. 

"You  are  called  Genevieve  Josephine  Henriette  Ray- 
nouard,  are  you  not,  and  you  were  born  Oct.  6,  1874?"  he 
asked  gently. 

"Yes,  sir,"  was  the  faint  reply. 

Quietly,  hesitatingly,  she  told  the  story  of  her  life.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  a  bourgeois  family,  where  the  sterner 
precepts  of  life  and  of  morality  were  made  the  foundation  of 
France.  By  these  humbler  people  the  Parisian  liberte  de  la  vie 
which  excuses  the  faithless  husband,  the  dissolute  wife,  the 
immoral  youth,  is  believed  to  be  the  broad  and  certain  road 
to  destruction,  infamy  and  death. 

"For  three  months  I  mounted  Calvary,"  she  said.  "Such 
agony  I  do  not  wish  my  worst  enemy.  No  one  can  imagine 
what  I  went  through.  I  feared  for  myself,  my  husband,  my 
child.  I  feared  for  myself,  because  if  part  of  those  letters 
were  published,  my  deepest,  my  innermost  secrets  would  be 
displayed  before  the  world.  My  woman's  honor  would  be 
stripped  and  naked. 

"I  was  reared  by  aged  parents.  My  father  was  the  son  of 
a  wealthy  bourgeois  of  the  period  of  1830,  devoted  to  the 
ideas  of  that  epoch.  My  poor  father,  who  last  year  told  me 
that  a  wife  who  had  a  lover  was  a  woman  without  honor,  never 
would  have  set  foot  in  my  house  had  he  known  of  my  liaison 
with  M.  Caillaux. 


14  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"I  was  married  at  nineteen  to  Leo  Claretie.  We  had  two 
daughters.  One  of  them  died  when  she  was  only  six  months 
old.  The  other,  Germaine,  is  now  nineteen.  A  divorce  was 
granted  in  April,  1908,  in  my  favor;  and  the  guardianship 
of  our  daughter  was  given  to  me." 

Behind  this  testimony  lay  a  picture  which  the  witness  did 
not  remove  from  the  shadows  of  the  past.  It  was  the  pic- 
ture of  her  first  married  life.  Claretie  was  a  newspaper  man, 
for  years  the  literary  editor  of  the  Figaro.  Through  him 
she  was  lifted  out  of  the  common  place,  narrow  life  of  a 
bourgeois  daughter  into  a  different  sphere.  Through  her 
husband  she  met  the  brilliant,  the  powerful  men  of  the  day, 
and  among  them,  Caillaux.  She  saw  in  Caillaux  a  road  to 
wealth  and  greatness ;  a  road  that  poor  Claretie  could  never 
follow,  a  road  for  which  she  finally  abandoned  all. 

She  spoke  of  her  marriage  with  Caillaux  with  pride. 

"He  was  Premier,"  she  said.  ''In  marrying  him  I  found 
complete  happiness.  I  thought  all  would  be  happy ;  but  alas 
my  life  began  to  be  poisoned  by  calumnies." 

A  man  with  long  black  hair,  who  had  been  sitting  as  near 
the  witness  as  possible  lifted  his  left  hand.  Immediately 
there  was  a  chorus  of  hisses. 

"The  campaign  against  my  husband  then  began.  (More 
hisses.)  All  the  people  in  the  salons  that  I  frequented  re- 
ceived me  with  smiles  that  were  intended  to  wound  me.  One 
person  said  behind  me  that  my  husband  had  taken  money 
from  Germany  to  cede  the  Congo.  (Prolonged  hisses.) 
These  slanderous  rumors  penetrated  every  part  of  society. 
I  was  no  longer  able  to  go  to  sittings  of  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies,  because  I  was  the  object  of  unpleasant  attention  in 
the  galleries.  One  day  someone  shouted : 

"  'To  Berlin  !     Caillaux !     Congo !' 

The  left  hand  of  the  long  haired  man  again  waved;  and 
again  the  Caillaux  claque  stifled  all  other  outcry  with  its 
hisses. 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  15 

"The  newspapers  read  by  society  were  filled  with  such 
spiteful  articles  that  I  was  afraid  to  call  on  my  friends. 
One  day  at  a  fashionable  dressmaker's,  two  women  sat  op- 
posite me.  One  leaned  over  to  the  other  and  said : 

"  'See  that  woman  in  black?  Well,  that  is  the  wife  of  that 
thief,  Caillaux.'  (Hisses.)  If  I  could  live  a  hundred  years, 
I  should  always  hear  that  woman." 

"One  day,"  continued  Mme.  Caillaux,  "in  a  friend's  draw- 
ing room,  I  heard  a  woman  say,  'Before  long  some  good 
Frenchmen  will  assume  the  reins  of  government  and  prevent 
France  from  going  into  bankruptcy.'  I  replied: 

"  'My  husband  is  a  Minister  of  the  Treasury,  a  specialist 
in  finance.  He  will  not  lead  France  into  bankruptcy.' ' 

This  time,  the  right  hand  of  the  chief  claquer  was  up- 
raised. A  volley  of  cheers  swept  the  court  room. 

The  first  Mme.  Caillaux  told  a  different  story.  A  slender 
woman,  whose  wasted  cheeks  told  of  long  years  of  unhappi- 
ness,  she  revealed  Caillaux  as  a  supreme  hypocrite,  who  had 
always  practiced  dissimulation  and  intrigue  in  everything 
he  did. 

"I  first  knew  my  husband  had  a  mistress,"  she  said,  "when 
a  certain  letter  came  into  my  hands.  He  fell  on  his  knees  and 
asked  my  pardon.  He  was  afraid  then  that  the  news  would 
get  out  and  hurt  his  chances  at  the  elections.  He  promised 
to  give  up  the  other  woman,  but  he  no  sooner  promised  than 
he  went  back  to  her.  I  found  more  letters.  I  kept  photo- 
graphic copies.  I  had  to  do  this  to  protect  myself  against 
the  Machiavellian  manoeuvers  of  an  unfaithful  husband. 
But  never,  never  did  I  give  these  letters  to  M.  Calmette." 

"Madam  Gueydan,"  said  Judge  Albanel  quietly.  "Do 
you  swear  you  told  Calmette  nothing?" 

"I  swear  it,"  cried  the  woman. 

Had  the  husband  deceived  his  wife?  Had  he  inflamed  her 
mind  with  a  false  fear?  Did  Caillaux  really  believe  Calmette 
would  print  his  love  letters?  These  questions  were  heard 


16  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

amid  the  murmur  of  whispers  in  the  court  room — a  murmur 
which  was  instantly  hushed  when  at  last  the  letters  were 
produced  and  exhibited  before  judge  and  jury. 

They  were  written  by  Caillaux  to  the  woman,  who  killed 
Calmette,  soon  after  his  first  wife  suspected  the  liaison.  The 
first  one  read: 

"My  dear  little  Riri:  When  I  first  met  thee,  I  felt  the 
impulse  of  my  whole  being.  I  should  nevertheless  have  re- 
sisted, and  should  no  doubt  have  had  the  courage  to  conquer 
myself  if  I  had  been  happy  at  home.  But  I  was  unhappy. 

"Therefore,  I  threw  myself  towards  thee  with  passionate 
fury ....  With  fine  courage  and  with  the  beautiful  boldness 
which  love  and  confidence  gave  thee,  thou  hast  conquered  thy 
freedom,  saying  to  me, 

"  *I  ask  of  thee  but  one  engagement,  that  is,  to  give  me 
thy  love  now,'  and  to  this  thou  hast  added : 

"  'I  shall  not  believe  quite  in  the  fullness  of  thy  love  if 
thou  dost  not  succeed  some  day  in  thyself  becoming  free.' 

"I  answered  thee,  I  do  and  will  love  thee.  I  certainly  ex- 
pect to  regain  my  liberty  some  day,  but  in  any  case  I  shall 
not  move  before  the  elections." 

This  line  well  illustrates  how  Caillaux  put  personal  ambi- 
tion before  love  and  all  things  else. 

"Is  that  not  it,  my  Riri?  In  the  background  of  my  mind 
I  knew  that  I  had  embarked  on  a  wrong  venture,  that 
there  was  between  another  person  and  myself  such  opposition 
of  temperaments,  of  natures,  of  characters,  that  catastrophy 
was  inevitable;  that  necessarily  time  would  bring  about  a 
rupture  apart  from  all  questions  of  another  love,  and  as 
the  sole  result  of  a  clash  between  two  beings  who  did  not 
understand  each  other.  .  .  . 

"When  a  man  is  unhappy  at  home  and  he  has  outside  a 
delicious  affection  that  naturally  reacts  upon  him,  those  who 
have  made  him  unhappy  have  only  themselves  to  blame. 


17 

"However  that  may  be,  events  happened  in  September. 
Thou  saidst  to  me  on  that  subject:  'Thou  hast  been  weak. 
Thou  shouldst  have  closed  thy  door  to  the  fugitive,  and 
made  use  of  that  favorable  opportunity.' 

"Undoubtedly  the  attitude  thou  suggestest  could  have 
been  taken  quite  legitimately,  but  thou  forgettest  two  things, 
first  that  it  would  have  been  well  known  she  was  injured  in 
her  affections  and  that  we  had  aL  to  fear  from  the  fury  of  a 
woman  who  felt  her  situation  gone,  and  who  had  not  yet  had 
time  to  reconcile  herself  to  that  idea. 

"The  second  thing  thou  forgettest  is  that  my  electoral 
position  was,  so  to  speak,  lost.  It  is  easy  for  me  to  con- 
vince myself  of  that  by  conversations  I  had  yesterday  with 
my  constituency.  .  .  . 

"Thou  wilt  say  that  I  am  losing  a  precious  opportunity 
and  that  I  shall  have  a  frightful  winter.  All  that  is  true, 
but  it  fails  to  take  into  account  my  legitimate  political  am- 
bitions and,  what  is  much  graver,  my  duty  toward  party  and 
friends. 

"Let  me  explain  that  my  party  has  made  me  what  I  am. 
I  owe  it  as  the  honest  man  thou  knowest  me  to  be  to  fight 
for  it  next  year  in  the  fullest  of  my  strength.  (Cheers.)  It 
will  be  the  last  campaign  under  the  old  voting  system. 

"What  is  irksome  for  us  both  is  that  for  long  months  we 
shall  have  to  employ  extreme  precautions.  If  we  had  the 
confidence  in  ourselves  and  in  our  love  which  I  have  abso- 
lutely, we  would  not  see  each  other  for  months.  I  do  not 
propose  so  radical  a  solution,  because  we  should  both  suffer 
too  much.  But  I  repeat  that  infinite  prudence  is  necessary. 
A  half  way  solution  thou  wilt  say.  Perhaps  so,  my  Riri,  but 
life  is  not  easy  to  arrange,  when  one  must  take  so  many 
things  into  consideration,  and  one  to  which  I  hold  above  all, 
the  reputation  of  a  woman  one  adores. 

"Thou  knowest  well,  my  dear  love,  that  I  love  thee  above 
all  and  beyond  all,  that  I  feel  happiness  is  with  thee,  that 


18  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

I  await  it,  that  I  hope  for  it,  that  I  live  only  for  its  realiza- 
tion.    I  love  thee  with  all  my  heart. 

"P.  S.  I  have  reread  my  letter  and  it  does  not  completely 
convey  my  thoughts.  What  I  wish  to  make  absolutely  clear 
is  the  necessity  that  there  shall  be  no  scandal  before  May 
unless  I  am  absolutely  forced  to  do  it.  .  .  ." 

Another  letter  began: 

"I  must  return  to  Le  Mans,  where  I  preside  over  the 
General  Council.  Were  I  unreasonable,  I  would  take  you 
with  me,  but  I  am  reasonable.  I  am  discouraged.  What  a 
life.  My  only  consolation  is  the  thought  of  you,  of  having 
you  in  my  arms,  as  at  Cuchy.  What  delicious  memories. 

"I  adore  you.  Thousands  and  thousands  of  kisses  on  all 
your  little  body,  adored." 

Most  of  the  letters  were  written  on  the  official  note  paper 
of  the  Prefecture  of  the  Department  of  the  Sarthe,  where 
Caillaux  had  his  country  home,  and  which  he  represented 
many  years  as  deputy. 

The  prisoner  sobbed  convulsively.  She  did  not  raise  her 
head  until  M.  Chenu,  counsel  for  the  Calmette  family,  again 
insisted  that  the  editor  of  the  Figaro  had  no  intention  of 
printing  the  letters,  and  referred  to  the  deposition  of  Presi- 
dent Poincare,  who  told  how  Caillaux  had  come  to  him  on  the 
morning  of  the  day  of  the  murder  and  said  he  heard  that 
Calmette  planned  to  print  a  batch  of  private  letters. 

''I  replied  that  I  considered  M.  Calmette  an  honorable 
gentleman,  entirely  incapable  of  publishing  letters  defaming 
the  private  character  of  Mme.  Caillaux,  but  I  endeavored 
vainly  to  convince  him,"  said  President  Poincare. 

In  his  final  address  to  the  Jury,  M.  Chenu  said: 

"I  shall  not  attempt  to  go  into  the  biography  of  Mme. 
Caillaux.  She  is  a  cool,  sensible  woman  without  emotion  or 
pity.  She  has  tears  only  for  herself.  She  worked  with 


MME.    CAILLAUX 

"She    could    steel    her    face    against   all    inquiry,   or   let   herself   be    over- 
whelmed by  her  emotions.     A  study   of    her    features    explain    how    she 
could  write,    'I  will  do  the  deed.' " 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  19 

tenacity  to  break  up  her  lover's  home.  You  see  the  result, 
the  mistress  triumphing  over  the  lawful  spouse.  They  are 
bound  up  in  each  other,  in  their  happiness,  in  their  hopes, 
even  in  their  murder  plans. 

"M.  Caillaux  is  a  man  of  inordinate  and  limitless  ambition, 
whose  power  rests  on  his  own  audacity  and  on  the  fear  that 
he  inspires.  He  neglected  to  tell  his  wife  of  the  assurance 
given  him  by  President  Poincare  that  Calmette  was  in- 
capable of  printing  private  letters.  They  did  not  fear  that. 
What  they  feared  was  the  publication  of  the  report  by  Victor 
Fabre  on  the  Rochette  swindle  and  the  full  exposure  of  Caill- 
aux's  alliance  with  Germany. 

"The  husband's  violent  words  at  the  luncheon  table  de- 
cided the  wife  to  substitute  herself  for  him,  and  she  pre- 
pared the  assassination  with  as  much  calm  as  a  society  woman 
fitting  in  calls  between  tea  parties." 

While  M.  Labori  was  summing  up  for  the  defense,  a  man 
and  woman  left  the  court  room  hurriedly.  The  crowd  in  the 
doorway  stared  at  her  elegant  costume,  a  sheen  of  black 
silk,  and  her  blazing  diamond  rings.  Her  face  was  almost  hid 
under  a  black  picture  hat.  As  soon  as  the  two  were  apart, 
the  man  said: 

"Therese,  my  work  here  is  done.  I  must  return  to  Berlin 
by  the  way  of  Brussels.  See  Caillaux.  The  war  may  break 
tomorrow.  Remember,  remember  the  black  cross." 

A  few  hours  later  Almereyda's  band  was  leading  a  hostile 
demonstration  in  front  of  the  Figaro  office.  Mme.  Caillaux 
had  been  acquitted. 

It  was  the  night  of  July  28,  and  while  the  crowd  fought 
in  the  street,  there  appeared  another  news  bulletin  in  omin- 
ously big,  black  letters : 

"Austria  Declares  War.    Germany  Mobilizes." 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  BONNET  ROUGE  GANG 

A  Hot  Bed  of  Sedition — Almereyda,  Apaclie  Editor — His 
Criminal  Record — Alinereyda,  Tool  of  Caillaux — The 
Apaches  Revel — A  Pacifist  Reporter 

Later,  that  same  night  Almereyda  and  his  Apache  follow- 
ers celebrated  Caillaux's  victory  in  the  back  room  of  his 
socialistic  newspaper,  the  Bonnet  Rouge.  They  had  just 
returned  from  a  parade  through  the  Montmartre  section  in 
which  amid  mingled  cheers  and  curses  they  kept  shouting: 

"Vive  Caillaux"     (Hurrah  for  Caillaux.) 

"Vive  la  Paix."     (We  want  peace.) 

"A  bas  la  Guerre"     (Down  with  the  war.) 

"Well,  at  last  we're  here,"  exclaimed  Almereyda,  as  he 
turned  and  faced  his  followers.  "We've  had  some  dirty  hard 
fights,  but  we  won  them  all.  We  helped  Caillaux  all  we  could. 
The  police  were  afraid  to  touch  us,  and  when  they  did,  they 
had  to  let  us  go.  Why,  I'm  supposed  to  be  in  jail  now. 
The  man  at  the  top  of  the  department  is  my  friend.  When- 
ever you  get  against  the  wall,  I'll  get  you  out." 

The  gang  yelled  itself  hoarse.  Its  appreciation  of  Alme- 
reyda's  friendship  and  power  was  deliriously  genuine. 

A  table  had  been  set  in  the  middle  of  the  room  with  wine 
bottles  of  various  shapes  stacked  behind  each  plate,  and  a 
flaming  red  rose  in  each  glass.  Above,  from  the  ceiling,  hung 
a  great,  red  flag. 

"Tavera,  take  that  seat  over  there,"  said  the  leader, 
pointing  first  at  the  most  murderous  looking  member  of  his 
retinue,  and  then  at  the  chair  at  the  end  of  the  table. 

20 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  21 

"Here,  Roch,  sit  there." 

"Poggiale,  here,  here's  your  place." 

"Fil,  Filippi,  come  up  nearer.  No,  not  too  near.  You're 
drunk,  you  dog,  drunk  already." 

It  was  an  ugly  assemblage.  Everyone  had  a  jail  record. 
Their  voices,  their  laughter,  their  blasphemies,  all  had  a 
prison  echo.  Besides  the  five  leaders  there  were  many  others 
of  the  same  type,  also  of  the  Paris  underworld,  such  as  you 
might  see  any  night  in  the  corners  of  certain  side  street 
cafes,  or  lurking  in  the  shadows  of  the  boulevards,  waiting 
for  their  woman  companions  to  report,  or  for  the  call  of 
fellow  thieves  in  some  other  criminal  enterprise. 

They  were  of  the  same  stratum  of  society,  to  which  those 
New  York  Apaches,  Lefty  Louie,  Gyp,  the  Blood;  Harry 
Lewis,  and  Dago  Frank,  the  gunmen  of  the  Rosenthal  case, 
belonged.  Their  mode  of  life,  their  relation  to  the  police, 
their  connections  with  gamblers  and  the  demi-monde  of  the 
street,  were  the  same. 

The  gang  did  not  stand  on  ceremony.  They  plunged 
into  the  dinner  headlong,  and  soon  the  clatter  of  wine  bot- 
tles, plates,  and  glasses;  the  jeers  and  curses,  which  more 
and  more  made  conversation  impossible;  the  snatches  of 
ribald  song,  and  an  occasional  thunderous  oath  from 
Tavera,  made  the  shaky  doors  and  windows  fairly  rattle. 
Finally,  when  Filippi  fell  from  his  chair  with  a  crash  to  the 
floor,  and  two  of  his  companions  tumbled  him  into  a  comer, 
Almereyda  arose  and  commanded  silence. 

"I'm  as  drunk  as  any  of  you,"  he  said  slowly,  "but  I'm 
not  too  drunk  to  tell  you  this.  The  war  has  come.  It  may 
break  tomorrow.  That  means  that  all  of  us  will  go  to  jail, 
unless  we  know  how  to  prevent  it. 

"We  are  all  in  the  Carnet  B  (Notebook  B,  of  the  De- 
partment of  the  Interior,  which  contains  the  names  of 
anarchists,  antimilitarists,  and  all  others  who  may  try  to 
interfere  with  mobilization).  Malvy,  Minister  of  the  Interior, 


22  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

is  my  friend.  Malvy  nas  complete  control  of  the  police.  He 
has  always  been  the  right  hand  man  of  Caillaux ;  and  because 
of  what  I  have  done  for  Caillaux,  Malvy  will  see  that  Alme- 
reyda  and  his  friends  suffer  no  harm.  As  a  rule,  everybody 
in  the  Garnet  B  must  be  arrested  before  mobilization;  but 
Malvy  is  strong  enough  to  prevent  that." 

"Vive  Caillaux,  Vive  Malvy"  stammered  Filippi,  as  he 
tried  to  get  up  out  of  the  corner.  His  drunken  sally,  like  a 
spark  in  a  powder  keg,  set  off  the  whole  room  in  an  explosion 
of  laughter. 

"Now,  let  me  say,  that  each  of  you  who  worked  for  Cail- 
laux during  the  trial  gets  500  francs.  Come  here  tomorrow, 
and  you  get  the  money.  Tavera  ought  to  have  a  bonus  for 
that  gendarme  he  almost  killed,  and  I'll  see  he  gets  it." 

"Tavera,  Tavera,"  yelled  the  crowd,  and  seeing  that  his 
fellows  would  not  be  satisfied  with  less,  Almereyda  turned  to 
his  chief  assassin,  and  pulling  him.  out  of  his  chair,  demanded 
a  speech.  Tavera  brandished  a  wine  bottle,  as  if  to  split 
open  his  chieftain's  head,  and  then  began: 

"We  want  to  stick  together.  There's  a  black  hell  of  trou- 
ble ahead.  As  I  was  telling  you  at  that  cafe  near  the  Chatelet 
subway  station,  where  every  morning  during  the  trial  we  got 
our  tickets  of  admission,  we've  got  to  stick  together.  Alme- 
reyda is  not  Malvy's  friend.  He's  Malvy's  boss.  If  he  tells 
Malvy  to  open  the  jails,  Malvy  opens  them.  If  we  stick  to 
Almereyda,  the  war  can  come.  It  won't  bother  us." 

"Vive  La  Garde  Corse,"  (Hurrah  for  the  Corsican  Guard) 
cried  Filippi,  as  he  at  last  succeeded  in  getting  on  his  feet. 
The  interruption  irritated  Tavera,  who  retorted: 

''Get  back  into  your  hole,  you  red-eyed  dog  of  a  thief. 
You  are  always  a  fool,  when  you're  drunk.  You'll  be  killed 
by  your  bottles,  some  day." 

Tavera  was  known  to  the  police  as  "Tavera,  the  Assas- 
sin." Originally  a  card  sharp  and  confidence  man,  he  had 
developed  into  a  highway  robber  and  burglar.  Before  Alme- 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  23 

reyda  hired  him  for  Caillaux's  Corsican  Guard,  he  had  at- 
tained more  or  less  success  in  gambling  houses  and  other 
resorts,  where  money  was  spent  freely,  by  suddenly  pulling  a 
gun  and  with  the  aid  of  confederates  holding  up  everybody 
else.  Tavera  was  in  a  class  entirely  above  a  sneak  thief,  like 
Filippi.  Most  of  all  he  was  not  a  man  to  be  trifled  with,  and 
Filippi  was  not  too  drunk  to  realize  that  fact.  So  Filippi 
dropped  back  in  the  corner  and  out  of  sight. 

There  were  other  speeches  and  then  the  gathering  broke 
up  slowly.  Finally  only  Almereyda  and  a  youth,  who  had 
come  late,  remained. 

"Jean,  what  news  have  you  got?"  asked  the  Editor  in 
Chief.  "What  is  the  Figaro  saying  about  us  this  morning?" 

Jean  was  a  reporter  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge..  He  had  had 
the  task  of  writing  many  of  the  articles  attacking  Calmette 
during  the  trial,  and  his  work  had  attracted  the  notice  and 
approval  of  his  employer.  Jean  was  never  allowed  to  be 
present  at  the  meetings  of  the  Corsican  Guard,  because  he 
was  thought  to  be  too  much  of  a  newspaper  man. 

"He's  one  of  'jhose  dogs  of  a  fool,  who  writes  everything 
he  knows,'  said  Tavera  once  in  a  flash  light  analysis  of 
Jean's  character. 

Jean  produced  a  copy  of  the  Figaro,  and  Almereyda  read 
aloud : 

"The  republic  is  covered  with  mud  and  blood  by  the  great- 
est scandal  of  our  epoch.  More  or  less  well  paid  magistrates, 
who  aided  in  the  parody  of  justice,  are  ineffaceably  dishon- 
ored. A  powerful  man,  surrounded  by  subsidized  partisans 
leagued  with  the  political  party  in  power,  is  above  justice 
and  the  laws. 

"M.  Caillaux  presided  at  the  trial.  He  signalled  to  Judge 
Albanel  to  adjourn  when  things  were  going  against  him, 
turning  the  Assize  Court  into  a  fair  for  the  sale  of  con- 
sciences. Henceforth,  we  shall  look  for  his  vengeance  on 
those  who  tried  to  oppose  him." 


24  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"Hah,  hah,  they  still  feel  the  sting  of  our  story  about 
Calmette's  connection  with  the  Hungarian  Government,"  was 
Almereyda's  comment.  "Tell  me  exactly  what  happened  the 
other  day,  when  Caillaux  produced  Calmette's  will  and  un- 
covered that  Hungarian  scandal.  I  was  out  of  the  court 
room  just  then." 

"That  was  on  July  27,"  replied  Jean. 

"Caillaux  handed  a  sheaf  of  papers  to  Judge  Albanel,  and 
said: 

"  'I  shall  not  repeat  what  I  have  already  told  the  court 
about  the  bonds  which  united  the  Figaro  to  certain  foreign 
personalities.  These  documents  which  I  here  present  in  evi- 
dence were  signed  by  Calmette.  They  show  that  M.  Calmette 
agreed  to  work  for  the  Hungarian  government  for  pay,  that 
he  was  willing  to  enter  the  employ  of  certain  Hungarian 
political  leaders.  These  documents  were  given  me  by  Count 
Karolyi,  chief  of  the  Hungarian  radical  party.' ' 

"That's  not  what  I  want  to  know,  my  boy,"  broke  in 
Almereyda  with  more  show  of  irritation.  ''Tell  me,  did  you 
hear  Lipscher  testify?" 

"You  mean  that  Hungarian  with  the  dazzling  beauty  in 
the  big,  black  picture  hat?"  asked  Jean. 

"Yes,  I  mean  Lipscher.  The  woman  was  Therese  Duver- 
ger,  a  kind  of  international  character,  who  is  a  link  between 
the  spy  systems  of  Germany  and  Austria,  and  always  travels 
with  Lipscher.  But  never  mind  her.  Tell  me  what  Lipscher 
said." 

"I  did  not  hear  Lipscher  testify,"  replied  Jean. 

"What,"  exclaimed  Almereyda  springing  from  his  chair 
with  an  oath.  "Didn't  you  get  his  version  of  that  Calmette 
contract?  What  was  the  matter  with  you?  Did  you  not 
know  that  it  was  the  most  important  thing  in  the  whole  trial 
for  us?" 

As  he  gnashed  these  words  between  his  teeth,  Almereyda 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  25 

worked  his  fingers  nervously,  as  if  ready  to  choke  Jean  and 
tear  him  to  pieces. 

"I  had  to  leave  the  court  room  to  see  my  wife  about  that 
time,"  said  Jean.  "I  must  have  missed  Lipscher." 

"Damn  your  wife,"  cried  Almereyda.  "Don't  you  know 
you  can't  have  a  wife  in  this  business.  Now  I'll  give  you 
just  one  more  chance.  Go  out  and  get  me  the  Havas  New 
York  cables  of  tonight.  Get  them  from  some  of  your  friends 
on  the  other  papers.  See  if  Count  Karolyi  has  been  located 
in  the  United  States.  If  you  don't  get  what  I  want  I'll 
discharge  you  by  cutting  your  throat." 

Jean  was  an  amiable  lad,  or  he  would  not  have  meekly 
picked  up  his  hat,  and  without  a  word  hurried  out  into  the 
dark  hall  way  and  down  the  creaking  stairs.  He  would  in- 
deed never  have  stayed  on  the  Bonnet  Rouge,  as  long  as  he 
had,  if  he  did  not  possess  a  nature,  that  was  wholly  faithful 
and  long  suffering.  He  had  just  married,  and  the  needs  of 
his  little  household  made  him  a  veritable  slave  to  the  Bonnet 
Rouge  payroll.  Jean  was  a  pacifist  by  nature.  He  had 
come  to  the  Bonnet  Rouge,  because  he  believed  in  what  he 
thought  were  its  ideals.  He  had  read  its  articles  on  univer- 
sal brotherhood  and  the  iniquities  of  war,  and  he  thought 
he  would  find  in  its  office  the  long  wished  for  opportunity  to 
devote  all  his  thought  and  energy  to  the  great  cause  of  peace. 

All  too  soon  Jean  was  disillusionized.  One  day  in  the  re- 
ference bureau,  he  found  the  following  clipping  from  some 
other  Paris  newspaper: 

"Almereyda,  editor  of  Caillaux's  Bonnet  Rouge  has  a  long 
criminal  record.  Here  is  a  list  of  some  of  his  offenses  and 
sentences,  of  which  the  most  recent  he  does  not  seem  to  have 
served : 

"May  28,  1900:    Theft,  two  months  in  jail. 

''June  26,  1902:  Being  found  with  explosives,  one  year's 
imprisonment. 


26  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"Aug.  7,  1907:  Outrage,  rebellion,  and  carrying  pro- 
hibited arms,  six  months  in  jail. 

"Dec.  30,  1907:  Inciting  soldiers  to  disobedience;  three 
years  in  prison. 

"Feb.  15,  1908:  Inciting  soldiers  to  disobedience  and 
insult  to  the  army ;  two  years'  imprisonment. 

"Dec.  7,  1910:    Insult  to  the  army;  one  year  in  jail. 

"Jan.  6,  1914:    Violence  and  blows;  two  months  in  jail. 

"April  8,  1914 :    Blows  and  injuries,  fifteen  days  in  jail. 

"June  24,  1914:  Blows  and  violence;  four  months  in 
jail." 

During  his  short  period  of  service  on  the  Bonnet  Rouge, 
Jean  also  discovered  that  the  editors  and  reporters  who  were 
constantly  writing  the  most  profound  articles  on  peace,  on 
the  need  of  France  to  become  a  more  economic  and  less  mili- 
tary nation,  were  the  most  warlike  themselves.  He  felt  like 
calling  up  Almereyda  and  resigning  over  the  telephone,  but 
again  he  thought  of  Marie,  of  the  furniture  he  had  bought 
on  the  installment  plan,  of  the  new  dresses  Marie  wanted,  and 
most  of  all  of  the  other  life  which  was  soon  to  enter  his 
home,  and  he  faltered.  No,  he  would  stay  on  the  Bonnet 
Rouge  just  a  little  while  longer. 

Meanwhile,  Almereyda  was  marching  up  and  down  the 
deserted  banquet  room,  kicking  the  wine  bottles  that  had 
tumbled  to  the  floor,  and  cursing. 

"Why  did  I  trust  that  boy  Jean  with  such  an  important 
assignment?"  he  kept  muttering  to  himself.  "The  lad  did 
such  remarkable  work  early  in  the  trial,  that  I  let  him  stay. 
And  of  course  he  had  to  go  out  to  see  that  baby  wife  of  his, 
just  at  the  most  vital  time  of  all." 

Then  it  occurred  to  Almereyda,  that  Jean  had  done  no 
more  than  his  master,  who  had  left  the  court,  not  for  the 
sake  of  a  loving,  faithful  wife,  but  for  Madame  Z,  one  of  the 
most  notorious  women  in  Paris.  Madame  Z  knew  that 
Almereyda  was  a  power  in  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior ;  and 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  27 

as  the  police  had  dared  interfere  with  one  of  her  hotels  in  the 
Rue  de  Montyon,  she  had  besought  Almereyda's  aid. 

"Oh,  I'm  just  the  same  fool,  that  IVe  always  been,'1  he 
cried  out  at  last,  throwing  himself  into  a  chair,  and  lighting 
another  cigarette.  ''Wine,  woman  and  drugs  have  always 
been  my  foes,  have  always  prevented  me  from  achieving  suc- 
cess. With  Caillaux  and  Malvy  I  should  make  millions  out  of 
this  coming  revolution.  German  money  is  all  right,  but  it's 
dangerous  and  uncertain.  What  we  want  is  a  great  coup 
d'  etat,  in  which  we  can  throw  out  the  financiers  who  now 
rule  France,  and  take  their  places. 

"But  I  must  get  that  Lipscher  story  for  Caillaux.  Lip- 
scher knew  all  about  Calmette's  contract  with  the  Hungarian 
government,  a  contract  which  Caillaux  wanted  to  exploit  to 
the  fullest  degree  possible  to  show  that  Calmette,  being  tied 
up  with  Hungary,  could  not  accuse  Caillaux  of  complicity 
with  Germany. 

"Then  I  should  have  had  two  other  reporters  assigned  to 
follow  Lipscher  and  the  Duverger  woman  after  the  trial. 
Lipscher  must  get  back  to  Berlin  before  France  mobilizes, 
while  Mme.  Therese  stays  behind  to  keep  him  posted.  If  so 
she  may  get  to  drinking  again,  and  tell  all  she  knows  to  some 
handsome  French  captain,  who  will  tip  off  the  military  au- 
thorities. Then  my  influence  with  Malvy  and  the  Ministry 
of  the  Interior  fails ;  and  all  our  plans  of  keeping  up  com- 
munication with  Berlin  through  Lipscher  will  collapse. 

"Ugh,  this  cigarette  is  weak  as  water." 

So  saying  he  threw  the  smoking  butt  into  a  half  drained 
wine  glass,  stripped  off  his  coat,  and  turned  up  his  sleeve  to 
the  shoulder.  From  an  inside  pocket  he  took  a  little  black 
bottle  and  a  needle  syringe.  A  minute  later  he  had  driven 
the  morphine  into  his  veins,  and  sank  back  into  his  chair 
with  folded  arms. 

The  vicious  frown  which  had  contracted  his  features  began 
to  fade  away.  A  strange  smile  overspread  his  face.  His 


28  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

eyes  became  lighted,  as  by  an  unseen  torch.  From  his  chair 
he  rose  as  lightly  as  a  feather,  wafted  upward  by  a  puff  of 
wind. 

"Now,  I'm  master  of  myself  at  last,"  he  exclaimed,  stretch- 
ing out  his  arms  to  feel  the  bouyant  strength,  with  which 
they  suddenly  seemed  to  be  endowed.  "Now  I  can  wade 
through  the  files  and  make  up  a  report  to  Caillaux  on  all  the 
articles  we  have  printed  since  he  first  began  pushing  his  plan 
for  a  reapproachment  with  Germany  and  a  rupture  with 
England. 

''Caillaux  gave  me  40,000  francs  on  July  17,  three  days 
before  the  trial  of  his  wife  began.  I  am  going  to  prove  that 
he  should  give  me  still  more  for  this  earlier  work.  Well, 
let's  see." 

Shoving  aside  the  dishes  and  bottles,  Almereyda  threw  a 
file  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge  on  the  table,  and  began  making 
notes.  The  paper  had  been  founded  in  1913,  and  soon  after- 
ward the  articles  began  to  appear,  which  were  intended  to 
make  France  forget  Germany's  military  designs,  and  by 
advocating  a  two  year  instead  of  a  three  year  military  serv- 
ice weaken  her  powers  of  defense. 

Most  of  them  bore  the  title : 

"Le  rapprochement  -franco-allemand"  (The  Franco- 
German  reapproachment.) 

Among  other  editorials  he  found  this  special  announce- 
ment, and  his  eyes  glistened  as  he  read  it  again,  with  all  the 
joy  of  an  author  who  at  last  sees  his  thoughts  in  print. 

"The  economic  interests  of  France  and  Germany  are  more 
and  more  closely  allied.  It  has  been  proved  that  the  idea  of 
revenge  (arising  from  the  Franco-Prussian  war)  has  been 
abandoned  by  all  the  French  people,  including  the  inhabitants 
of  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  as  a  monstrosity. 

"We  have  the  Entente  with  England,  and,  nevertheless, 
only  a  dozen  years  ago,  England  was  for  the  French  the 
hereditary  enemy,  the  perfidious  Albion. 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  29 

"Remember  Fachoda,  which  was  for  us  a  far  graver  injury 
than  Agadir. 

''Why  then  not  forget  what  has  happened  between  us  and 
the  Germans? 

"The  next  Chamber  of  Deputies  should  have  a  majority 
favorable  to  a  reapproachment  with  Germany.  Republicans, 
who  cherish  the  ambition  of  beholding  France  a  great  repub- 
lic, merchants  who  prefer  to  see  the  result  of  their  laborg 
secure  against  danger  or  disaster,  yes,  all  you  electors,  who 
are  all  powerful  because  of  the  ballot,  should  force  your  can- 
didates to  show  where  they  stand  on  this  question,  and  only 
vote  for  those  who  will  bind  themselves  to  work  for  the  real- 
ization of  this  great  plan,  this  great  public  good." 

Further  on  he  came  across  the  reprint  of  a  speech  he  made 
on  May  11,  1907,  at  an  anti-militaristic  meeting  at  Rheims 
upon  the  subject,  "Patrie  and  Caserne."  (Country  and 
Barracks.)  He  read  as  follows: 

"At  the  present  moment,  our  propaganda  should  be  illus- 
trated by  very  serious  acts.  In  case  of  war  the  proletariat 
should  not  be  satisfied  by  saying: 

"  'We  will  not  move.' 

''The  people  must  do  more  than  that.  They  must  cause 
a  disturbance.  The  women,  the  children,  the  old  men  must 
go  to  the  railroad  stations  and  prevent  the  conscripts  from 
leaving  and  advise  the  reservists  not  to  join  the  colors. 

"Each  fellow  countryman  should  be  non-patriotic.  It 
should  not  make  any  difference  to  him,  whether  he  is  a  Ger- 
man or  a  Frenchman." 

A^mereyda  was  still  reading,  when  Jean  returned.  "I 
couldn't  get  the  Havas  cablegrams  from  New  York,"  he  said 
quietly.  "My  friend  in  the  office  of  Le  Petit  Parisien  said 
that  he  would  be  assassinated  if  he  were  known  to  be  of  any 
aid  to  the  Bonnet  Rouge.  But  I  think  I  got  what  you  want. 
It  was  cabled  by  another  news  service. 

The  editor  in  chief  snatched  the  proof,  which  Jean  took 


30  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

from  his  pocket,  and  the  moment  his  eyes  fell  upon  it,  he 
cried  out  in  a  transport  of  joy: 

"Magnificent  work,  Jean.  The  newspapers  of  New  York 
found  Karolyi  there,  and  interviewed  him.  He  completely 
corroborates  Caillaux." 

Looking  still  closer  at  the  slip  of  paper,  Almereyda  read: 

"The  New  York  Times  of  July  28,  prints  the  following 
interview  with  Count  Karolyi,  leader  of  the  Hungarian  Radi- 
cals: 

''  'The  letters  which  I  turned  over  to  counsel  for  Mme. 
Caillaux  indicated  that  they  were  part  of  prior  communica- 
tions and  indicated  clearly  that  Calmette  had  agreed  for  a 
certain  consideration  to  support  the  Hungarian  government, 
ignoring  grafting  scandals  or  applying  "whitewash"  to  any 
exposures  that  could  not  be  prevented. 

"  'The  letters  show  that  an  agreement  was  made  between 
Calmette  and  the  representative  of  the  Hungarian  govern- 
ment with  the  cognizance  of  Secretary  of  State  Jeszenfsky, 
whereby  he  was  to  write  favorable  articles  in  support  of  the 
policy  of  the  Hungarian  government,  although  thc'c  policy 
was  directly  opposed  to  that  of  his  own  government,  France ; 
and  was  also  in  opposition  to  the  friendship  existing  between 
Hungary  and  France.  Calmette  did  this  work,  for  the 
favorable  articles  were  brought  to  my  attention,  as  early  as 
a  year  ago. 

"  'Finally  it  was  shown  in  the  letter  of  Calmette,  that  he 
protested  against  some  of  the  demands  made  upon  him  by 
the  bribers,  for  he  intimated  that  certain  things  the  grafters 
wanted  inserted  in  the  Figaro  were  too  strong  even  for  its 
editor,  when  he  was  receiving  pay  for  it.  So  he  refused  to 
comply  with  some  specific  things  demanded  of  him.' 

"Count  Karolyi  also  said  that  Hungary  must  stand  with 
Austria  in  the  present  war  crisis,  as  the  quarrel  between 
them  was  only  economic.  The  Count  said  that  Caillaux 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  31 

was  his  friend  and  that  he  had  given  the  letters  to  Caillaux  in 
Paris  while  on  his  way  to  the  United  States." 

Almereyda  looked  a  little  further,  and  then  read: 

"The  New  York  Sun  of  July  28  also  prints  an  interview 
with  Count  Karolyi,  in  which  he  said: 

"  'There  were  two  letters,  one  from  Calmette  to  the  Hun- 
garian government  and  the  other  from  that  government  to 
him.  They  passed  through  the  hands  of  a  third  party.' " 

Almereyda  embraced  the  cablegram,  as  if  it  were  a  dancing 
partner,  and  walzed  around  the  room  amid  the  litter  of  wine 
bottles,  broken  dishes,  and  cigarette  stubs. 

"Now,  Jean,"  he  said  at  last,  catching  himself  just  as  he 
was  falling  to  the  floor  from  dizziness.  "One  more  thing  for 
you,  and  then  you  can  take  a  rest.  Go  to  the  Hotel  Ter- 
minus and  see  if  Lipscher  is  registered  there.  If  so,  call 
me  up  here  immediately.  Lipscher  was  the  third  party,  men- 
tioned by  Count  Karolyi.  We  must  get  his  complete  story 
of  this  whole  affair  before  he  leaves  France.  Caillaux  of 
course  knows  it  and  he  will  want  us  to  use  every  detail.  If 
necessary,  spend  money,  but  get  the  story.  If  you  find  him 
taking  an  early  train,  jump  aboard  also.  Stick  till  you  get 
everything." 

Jean  looked  faltering  at  his  master. 

"Oh,  yes,  I  know  what's  on  your  mind,"  laughed  Alme- 
reyda, making  a  feint  to  hit  the  reporter  with  his  fist.  "You 
want  to  go  home  to  your  doll  faced  wife.  Didn't  I  tell  you, 
a  newspaper  man  had  no  business  to  have  a  wife.  Here. 
Here's  money  for  your  hotel  bill  and  car  fare.  And  don't 
come  back  till  you  get  the  Lipscher  story." 

The  pacifism  of  Jean's  nature  was  at  the  breaking  point. 
He  was  about  to  remonstrate,  when  Almereyda  reached  out 
his  hand  and  said  more  quietly. 

"I  wish  I  were  as  good  as  you,  my  boy.  You  don't  know 
what  the  world  is.  You  believe  in  peace  for  the  sake  of 
peace.  You  don't  know  that  practically  everything  in  life 


32  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

has  a  false  front,  that  life  is  one  long  fight  to  tear  the  mask 
off  the  other  man's  face,  and  still  keep  one  on  your  own. 

"You'll  change.  I  was  like  you  myself,  before  .  .  .  ," 
but  here  he  stopped  himself.  Even  the  morphine  did  not 
throw  him  completely  off  his  guard.  Almereyda  saw  for  a 
moment  the  prison  cell  which  had  changed  his  life,  but  he 
waved  the  memory  aside  and  again  assuming  a  harder  aspect, 
said: 

''Hurry  up,  Jean.  You  have  the  money  you  need.  Ring 
me  up  as  soon  as  you  get  to  the  Hotel  Terminus,  and  tell  me 
if  Lipscher  is  there." 

Jean  bowed  his  head,  and  went. 

Throwing  open  the  door  of  another  room,  Almereyda 
seated  himself  on  a  couch  and  began  to  undress.  He  took 
from  around  his  neck  a  red  ribbon  from  which  hung  a  black 
cross.  Placing  it  under  his  pillow  he  stretched  out,  and  was 
dead  asleep  when  the  telephone  rang  at  the  head  of  his  bed. 

Almereyda  reached  one  arm  out  of  bed,  and  taking  off  the 
receiving  and  transmitting  piece,  listened. 

"Left  an  hour  ago,  did  he?  All  right,  chase  him.  And  if 
you  don't  get  that  story,  remember,  I'll  kill  you." 

Without  waiting  for  an  answer,  the  Apache  editor  in  chief 
turned  over,  and  fell  asleep  again, 


CHAPTER  III 

CAILLAUX  WOULD  BE  ANOTHER  LENINE 

Awaited  German  Armies  in  Paris — Planned  Coup  d*  Etat 
and  Dictatorship — In  Private  Life  But  Still  Powerful — 
Controlled  State  Affairs  through  Malvy 

It  was  3  a.  m.,  when  Jean  reached  the  Hotel  Terminus 
opposite  the  great  St.  Lazare  railroad  station.  He  found 
only  one  clue.  Lipscher  and  a  woman  had  left  the  hotel  be- 
tween one  and  two  o'clock  in  a  taxi  cab  after  giving  instruc- 
tions that  a  small,  brown,  leather  trunk  should  be  held  at 
the  hotel  until  further  instructions.  Accordingly,  there  was 
nothing  else  to  do  but  watch  the  trunk.  The  porter  who  saw 
them  get  into  the  taxi  cab  had  gone  home.  If  he  went  after 
the  porter,  Jean  thought,  he  might  lose  the  trunk. 

After  calling  Marie  on  the  telephone  and  explaining  the 
situation  despite  such  interruptions,  as,  "Oh,  that's  awful!" 
"Why  do  you  work  so  hard?"  "Can't  they  let  you  come 
home,"  he  slumped  into  a  chair  in  the  lobby  and  tried  to 
rest.  He  did  not  dare  sleep.  The  warning  of  his  master  still 
rang  in  his  ears.  Furthermore,  he  had  the  true  instinct  of 
a  reporter,  that,  if  once  he  left  the  trail,  he  would  not  find  it 
again. 

Other  thoughts  beside  Lipscher  also  worried  him.  As  he 
had  come  through  the  Rue  St.  Lazare,  he  had  seen  several 
detachments  of  soldiers  standing  within  the  shadows  of  the 
station.  Now  and  then  a  troop  of  artillery  could  be  heard 
rattling  over  the  pavement  of  the  Boulevard  Haussmann  a 
few  blocks  away.  Mounted  police  patrolled  the  streets.  The 

33 


84.  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

very  atmosphere  seemed  charged  with  some  terrific  force, 
struggling  to  burst  forth,  like  lightning  from  a  thunder 
cloud. 

As  he  approached  nearer  the  soldiers,  he  recognized  two 
men  whom  he  had  seen  in  the  offices  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge,  dis- 
tributing circulars.  Some  of  the  troops  threw  them  into  the 
gutter  at  first  glance.  Others  read  them  intently,  and  then 
carefully  folded  and  tucked  them  away.  One  of  the  pamph- 
lets, which  the  wind  swept  down  the  street,  he  picked  up.  It 
was  no  other  than  Almereyda's  1907  anti-militaristic  har- 
angue at  Rheims.  Some  of  the  sentences  were  printed  in 
larger  and  blacker  type,  as  for  example: 

"THE  PEOPLE  MUST  DO  MORE  THAN  THAT.  THEY  MUST 
CAUSE  A  DISTURBANCE.  THE  WOMEN,  THE  CHILDREN,  THE  OLD 
MEN  MUST  GO  TO  THE  RAILROAD  STATIONS  AND  PREVENT  THE 
CONSCRIPTS  FROM  LEAVING  AND  ADVISE  1*HE  RESERVISTS  NOT 
TO  JOIN  THE  COLORS." 

One  of  the  extras,  which  he  bought  from  a  newspaper 
woman,  who  still  kept  open  her  kiosk  despite  the  fact  that  it 
was  long  past  midnight,  contained  these  alarming  headlines: 
"Austria  Declares  War  at  Germany's   Bidding." 
"Russia  Threatens  to  Send  Army  to  Aid  Servia." 
"Austria's   Belligerent   Move  Resulted   From   Germany's 
Rejection  of  Lord  Grey's  Plan  for  a  Conference  of  Ambas- 
sadors at  London." 

"France  Will  Not  Mobilize  Until  Every  Effort  to  Prevent 
a  General  European  War  Has  Been  Exhausted.  French 
Soldiers  to  Guard  Against  Socialistic  Outbreaks." 

Further  on  in  another  column  Jean  found  this  article: 
"A  delegation  of  Unified  Socialists  visited  M.  Bienvenu 
Martin,  Acting  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  asked  him 
about  his  interview  with  Baron  von  Schoen,  the  German  Am- 
bassador, who  has  been  saying  right  along  that  Germany  was 
willing  to  mediate. 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  35 

"The  Socialistic  committee  had  gone  to  M.  Bienvenu 
Martin,  because  of  a  meeting  of  fifty  Unified  Socialist  depu- 
ties earlier  in  the  day.  It  presented  to  the  Acting  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs  the  resolution  adopted  by  the  deputies, 
that  intervention  by  Russia  would  only  extend  the  evil  and 
make  German  imperialism  more  aggressive.  The  resolution 
concluded : 

'*  'France  should  not  become  involved  in  such  a  formidable 
conflict  because  of  secret  treaties.' ' 

As  Jean  sat  in  the  lobby  pondering  over  the  startling  de- 
velopments of  the  last  twenty-four  hours,  he  said  to  himself. 

"If  we  are  dragged  into  this  war,  I  must  go  to  the  front. 
What  then  will  poor  Marie  do?  She  is  soon  to  be  a  mother. 
She  cannot  go  out  to  work.  She  has  no  money.  I  am  over 
my  head  in  debt  for  the  furniture  for  the  flat.  She'll  be 
thrown  into  the  streets.  She'll  starve.  She'll  die." 

So  saturated  had  Jean  become  with  all  the  insidious  propa- 
ganda of  pacifism,  with  which  the  Germans  had  been  flooding 
France  for  many  years  before  the  war,  using  not  only  their 
paid  agents  but  a  vast  number  of  socialists  and  dreamers, 
like  Jean,  who  never  for  an  instant  realized  they  were  really 
working  for  the  eremy;  that  in  that  crucial  hour  he  was 
thinking  not  of  his  native  land,  not  of  France  and  all  her 
glorious  traditions ;  but  of  his  own  little  life.  He  had  for- 
gotten that  he  owed  everything  to  his  country  and  those 
who  had  fought  and  died  for  it  in  the  heroic  past.  He  did 
not  realize  that  idealistic  pacifism  is  nothing  more  than 
idealistic  selfishness. 

The  day  dawned,  and  Jean  still  waited. 

Meanwhile,  the  enemy  within,  the  vast,  sinister  power  of 
Prussian  intrigue  in  all  the  circles  of  French  life  was  labor- 
ing unceasingly  to  weaken  and  undermine  the  republic. 
Anarchists,  socialists,  pacifists  were  arranging  meetings, 
distributing  pamphlets,  filling  their  newspapers  with  frenzied 
appeals  to  keep  France  out  of  the  war. 


36  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Caillaux  was  in  constant  touch  with  the  head  of  his  formid- 
able Radical  Socialist  party,  which  held  the  balance  of  power 
in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  and  threatened  to  overthrow  any 
Premier,  who  happened  to  provoke  its  antagonism. 

Although  Caillaux  was  out  of  the  cabinet,  Malvy  remained 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  through  Malvy  Caillaux  was 
able  to  learn  the  inmost  secrets  of  the  government. 

The  news  which  Paris  saw  on  the  bulletin  boards  of  July 
29  still  further  increased  the  feeling  of  dire  apprehension, 
that  some  great  and  fearful  tragedy  was  about  to  engulf 
the  nation.  The  crowds  on  the  Boulevard  Poissonniere,  at 
the  corner  of  Rue  du  Faubourg  Poissonniere,  where  the 
offices  of  Le  Matin  are  located,  almost  broke  into  a  riot, 
when  some  socialists  began  to  cry,  "A  Bas  la  Guerre," 
"Vive  Caillaux."  Meantime,  these  bulletins  were  posted: 

"Austrian  Gun  BoatsBombard  Belgrade." 

"Germany  Warns  Russia  to  Halt  Army,  Yet  Prepares  for 
War  Herself." 

Along  the  Avenue  des  Champs  Elysees  still  greater  multi- 
tudes assembled  to  welcome  the  homecoming  of  President 
Poincare  from  Russia.  This  vast  thoroughfare,  the  broad- 
est and  most  stately  of  all  the  great  boulevards  of  Paris, 
with  the  vast,  looming  bulk  of  the  Arc  de  Triomphe  at  one 
end  and  the  obelisk  of  the  Place  de  la  Concorde  at  the  other, 
seemed  to  all  who  gathered  there  like  an  arena  where  some 
fearful  tragedy  was  soon  to  be  enacted. 

At  last  President  Poincare  was  seen,  bowing  to  this  side 
and  that.  His  face  wore  a  strange,  tense  look,  which  at  first 
filled  the  crowd  with  alarm,  but  which,  as  soon  as  he  smiled, 
drove  the  populace  into  a  frenzy  of  patriotic  fervor,  a  tem- 
pest of  handclappings,  cheers,  and  cries : 

"Vive  la  France." 

"Vive  la  Republique." 

"Vive  le  President" 

Escorting  President  Poincare  marched  thousands  of  eager 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  37 

faced  youth,  who  wore  the  insignia  of  the  League  of  Patri- 
ots, organized  by  a  man,  who  later  was  to  play  an  extremely 
important  part  in  sending  various  members  of  the  "Great 
Conspiracy"  to  traitors'  graves.  This  man  was  Maurice 
Barres.  Even  before  the  war  he  was  constantly  at  work 
both  in  and  out  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  combatting  the 
pestilential  forces  of  Prussian  pacifism. 

The  day  passed.  Jean  was  still  waiting  at  the  Hotel  Ter- 
minus, when  suddenly  he  was  called  to  the  telephone.  The 
voice  was  that  of  Almereyda. 

"Drop  the  assignment,"  it  said.  "Forget  it.  Report 
here  at  6  p.  m. 

"But  my  wife,"  cried  Jean,  before  he  could  catch  himself. 

"Ha,  ha.  Well,  put  her  in  a  bag  and  drop  her  into  the 
Seine,"  laughed  Almereyda.  "Remember,  6  o'clock." 

Jean  reported  at  6  o'clock,  and  all  that  night  toiled  away 
over  his  typewriter,  assembling  material  for  another  great 
attack  against  the  "militarists"  and  "imperialists"  of 
France. 

At  the  same  time  that  his  faithful  followers  were  crying  in 
the  streets,  "Down  with  the  war,"  "We  must  have  peace," 
Caillaux  was  laying  his  plans  for  a  great  coup  d'  etat,  by 
which  he  hoped  to  be  the  head  of  a  new  and  socialistic 
France.  He  expected  to  rally  beneath  his  standard  not 
only  the  Radical  Socialists,  the  members  of  his  own  party, 
including  even  those  of  more  moderate  leanings,  but  also  the 
most  extreme  and  violent  exponents  of  out  and  out  anarchy. 
As  a  result  of  the  election  of  May  10,  1914,  the  602 
deputies  elected  for  four  years,  were  divided  into  the  follow- 
ing factions: 

Radical  Socialists,  (Caillaux's  party)    136 

United  Socialists,  (Led  by  Jaures)    102 

Independent  Socialists 30 

Independent  Radicals  and  Republicans  of  the 
Left  .. 


38  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Democratic  Alliance    100 

Progressives  and  Federated  Republicans ....  54 

National   Liberals    34 

Right,    composed   of    Royalists    and    extreme 

Conservatives    26 

Independents    18 


602 

The  extreme  socialist  party,  with  Jaures  at  his  head, 
gained  27  seats.  Its  opposition  to  the  three  year  term  of 
military  service  was  uncompromising.  Like  Caillaux's  follow- 
ers, the  United  Socialists  favored  less  powerful  armaments. 

The  Three  Years'  Military  Service  Law  was  passed  by 
the  Chamber  on  July  19,  1913,  by  358  votes  against  204. 
It  repealed  the  Two  Year  Law  of  1905.  Had  Caillaux  and 
Jaures  been  successful  in  their  fight  against  a  three  year 
service  army,  in  the  elections  of  May  10,  1914,  the  military 
system  of  France  would  have  been  upset  and  completely 
demoralized  at  the  very  moment  that  Germany  was  prepar- 
ing to  strike. 

To  understand  how  blind,  or  worse  than  blind  these  social- 
ists were,  one  need  only  read  the  following  utterance  of 
Jaures,  written  just  before  the  war: 

"The  question  of  military  organization  has  been  the  cen- 
ter of  the  greatest  political  and  social  battle  that  has  con- 
vulsed the  French  democracy  for  many  years.  Early  in 
1913,  tbe  government  of  M.  Barthou,  taking  up  a  policy  an- 
nounced by  the  short  lived  Briand  ministry  called  upon 
Parliament  to  repeal  the  Two  Years'  Service  Law  of  1905 
and  again  to  impose  upon  the  citizens  the  obligation  of 
serving  for  three  years  in  the  so-called  active  army,  the 
army  of  the  barracks.  It  was  supported  by  all  the  forces  of 
conservatism  and  reaction,  by  all  the  parties  of  the  Center 
and  the  Right,  also,  by  a  notable  fraction  of  the  Radi- 
cals, ...  by  all  who  take  their  marching  orders  from  the 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  39 

aggressive  nationalism  of  M.  Clemenceau,  and  by  all  those 
whose  hands  were  tied  through  the  fact  that  they  owed  their 
seats  to  preelection  deals  with  reactionary  elements  in  their 
various  districts."  (Metropolitan  Magazine,  Sept.,  1914.) 

Little  did  Jaures  dream,  when  he  wrote  those  words,  that 
the  day  would  finally  come,  when  the  "aggressive  nationalism 
of  M.  Clemenceau"  would  save  the  France,  which  the  Jaures 
and  Caillaux  socialists  did  all  in  their  power  to  weaken. 

Although  out  of  the  Cabinet,  Caillaux  was  still  a  Deputy. 
His  faithful  constituents  in  the  Department  of  the  Sarthe 
reflected  him  in  spite  of  the  murder  of  Calmette  and  all  the 
stories  of  his  secret  alliances  with  the  traditional  enemy  of 
France  beyond  the  Rhine.  Caillaux  still  hoped,  therefore, 
that,  by  alliance  with  the  Jaures  socialists  and  other  factions 
in  the  Chamber,  he  could  again  dominate  France. 

In  the  rank  and  file  of  his  party  he  thought  he  still  held 
the  support  of  that  army  of  small  farmers  and  trades  people, 
who  had  come  to  believe  that  the  highly  centralized  and 
bureaucratic  government  of  France  was  controlled  by  an 
oligrachy  of  Paris  financiers,  and  was  as  despotic,  as  full  of 
favoritism,  wire  pulling,  intrigue  and  corruption,  as  the  old 
time  courts  of  crowned  and  sceptered  royalty.. 

These  members  of  the  Radical  Socialist  party  had  long 
looked  to  Caillaux  and  their  other  representatives  in  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies  to  protect  them  against  oppression, 
against  taxes  they  believed  unfair,  against  a  militarism  which 
German  propaganda  had  made  them  think  unnecessarily 
burdensome,  against  petty  bureaucratic  abuses  and  scandals, 
where  big  interests  triumphed  over  small. 

A  considerable  part  of  Caillaux's  old  following  was  also 
made  up  of  cafe  proprietors  and  liquor  people,  who  sought 
his  championship  against  the  constantly  growing  sentiment 
inimical  to  strong  drink,  against  the  movement  which  had 
already  put  an  end  to  the  public  sale  of  absinth,  and 


40  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

which  also  demanded  the  prohibition  of  all  kinds  of  alcoholic 
beverages,  except  light  wines  and  beers. 

Added  to  all  these,  there  was  also  a  powerful  contingent 
of  office  holders,  who  had  first  been  led  to  the  public  trough 
by  Caillaux,  and  thought  they  could  keep  their  snouts  in 
the  national  treasury,  as  long  as  Caillaux  and  his  man, 
Malvy,  had  a  dominating  voice  in  the  government.  Many 
of  these  sycophants  had  even  received  their  money  direct 
from  Caillaux,  money  which  was  called  "campaign  funds," 
and  which  was  thankfully  accepted  without  further  inquiry. 

For  many  years  Caillaux  had  been  building  his  house. 
Since  1863,  the  year  of  his  birth,  he  had  always  lived  in  a 
political  atmosphere.  He  had  studied  French  statecraft 
with  grammar  and  algebra.  Wise  far  beyond  his  years  he 
was  always  interested  most  in  the  financial  side  of  French 
politics.  From  the  very  beginning  he  sought  to  fit  himself 
for  the  profession  of  making  politics  pay. 

His  father  was  a  bourgeois  banker  and  man  of  wealth. 
The  elder  Caillaux  had  held  political  office,  and  although  of 
exclusive  tastes  and  royalist  tendences,  he  supported  the 
young  republic.  The  younger  Caillaux  was  by  nature  much 
more  of  a  royalist  than  his  father,  but  he  saw  that  the  days 
of  the  throne  and  ermine,  of  absolutism  in  its  outward  and 
traditional  forms,  had  passed  away  and  in  its  place  had 
come  the  absolutism  of  v/ealth. 

A  plutocrat  of  plutocrats,  Caillaux  became  a  socialist  of 
socialists.  Secretly  connected  with  the  greatest  financiers 
of  France  and  Germany,  he  publicly  appeared  as  the  friend 
of  the  poor  and  the  down  trodden.  Living  in  palatial  style, 
the  host  at  extravagantly  sumptuous  dinners,  to  which  he 
invited  the  most  exclusive  of  aristocracy,  he  also  was  to  be 
found  in  the  ill-smelling  corridors  of  the  headquarters  of  the 
Radical  Socialists,  the  "Salons  de  Valois,"  as  the  sign  read 
over  the  door.  But  always  he  kept  on  his  gloves.  Always  he 
walked  so  fast  that  the  herd  never  had  a  chance  to  clasp 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  41 

even  his  gloved  hand.  Nevertheless,  he  was  popular. 
Gloves  or  no  gloves,  his  fingers  always  dispensed  money. 

Down  in  the  Department  of  the  Sartbe,  which  Caillaux 
represented  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  as  soon  as  he  begun 
his  political  career,  his  power  was  absolute.  He  saw  to  it 
that  his  constituency  obtained  all  the  favors  within  reach; 
that  new  roads  and  new  bridges  were  built,  and  old  roads  and 
old  bridges  repaired ;  that  handsome  public  buildings  were 
erected,  even  though  more  expensive  and  more  ornate  than 
occasion  demanded;  that  badges  and  medals  were  forthcom- 
ing for  all  who  wanted  them,  that  the  wives  and  the 
children  were  remembered  in  many  pretty  ways ;  that,  in 
brief,  the  Department  of  the  Sarthe  got  as  much  out  of  the 
national  strong  box  as  Caillaux  could  possible  extract. 

Thus  it  happened,  that  even  despite  all  the  scandals  with 
which  his  later  life  was  clouded,  the  Department  of  the 
Sarthe  kept  him  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  At  Mamers, 
his  country  home,  his  constituents  refused  to  believe  the 
ugly  stories  some  newspapers  printed  about  him.  There 
were  a  few,  even,  who  never,  never  would  be  convinced  that 
Mme.  Caillaux  killed  Calmette. 

"It  was  all  a  lie,  the  work  of  political  enemies.  Calmette 
simply  went  into  hiding,"  they  insisted. 

Caillaux's  fortune  dated  back  to  his  first  years  in  the 
Chamber,  and  it  seemed  to  grow  by  leaps  and  bounds  ever 
since  that  time.  At  the  trial  of  his  wife,  he  asserted  that  he 
had  inherited  1,200,000  francs,  and  that  his  wealth  had 
never  increased.  There  are  others  who  say  that  at  the  height 
of  his  power,  Caillaux's  riches  were  ten  to  twenty  times 
greater  than  his  own  estimate. 

Caillaux's  rise  had  been  continuous.  He  was  first  an 
inspector  of  finances,  and  later  under  the  Premiership  of 
Waldeck-Rousseau,  he  became  Minister  of  Finance.  From 
that  time  on  Caillaux  tried  to  keep  his  hands  on  the  money 
of  France.  He  continued  to  be  Minister  of  Finance  under 


42  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

other  Premiers  and  he  kept  this  portfolio  during  his  own 
Premiership.  At  one  time,  according  to  Calmette  and  the 
Figaro,  he  juggled  the  income  tax  question  in  such  fashion 
as  to  cause  tremendous  fluctuations  in  rentes  on  the  Paris 
Bourse,  as  the  result  of  which  his  friends  are  said  to  have 
reaped  millions. 

Upon  such  a  foundation,  Caillaux  hoped  finally  to  become 
the  master  of  France.  He  schemed  to  let  German  aggres- 
sion overthrow  everything  else  and  lift  him  to  the  supreme 
heights  of  his  imperial  ambition. 

Papers  in  a  safe  deposit  box,  which  Caillaux  rented  in  the 
Banca  Italiana  di  Sconto,  in  Florence,  Italy,  and  seized  by 
the  Italian  police  years  afterward,  now  make  it  possible  to 
reveal  his  plans  of  a  great  coup  d'  etat  in  considerable  detail. 

First  of  all,  the  socialists  in  the  army  were  to  mutiny  and 
demand  that  Caillaux  become  First  Consul.  On  assuming 
this  office,  he  intended  to  throw  aside  old  time  conventions 
and  order  the  arrest  of  all  antagonistic  to  his  rule.  Among 
the  names  of  those  doomed  to  immediate  imprisonment  were 
found  those  of  President  Poincare,  and  the  two  former 
Premiers,  Clemenceau  and  Briand. 

To  accomplish  the  destruction  of  Poincare  and  Clemen- 
ceau, Caillaux  had  obtained  various  documents  from  the 
Surete  Generate,  or  secret  service  bureau  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior,  of  which  his  henchman,  Malvy,  had 
charge.  Such  documents  are  known  in  France  as  the  "pink 
papers."  They  include  the  confidential  reports  of  detectives 
assigned  to  special  investigations,  the  reports  of  police  con- 
cerning the  movements  of  suspects,  and  all  other  information 
from  every  source  to  uncover  crime  or  unmask  the  wiles  of 
intrigue  and  corruption. 

Among  the  "pink  papers"  may  also  be  found  all  manner 
of  correspondence,  as  for  example  anonymous  complaints 
against  public  officials  from  enemies  who  wish  to  attack  them 
in  this  secret  and  insidious  way. 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  43 

The  "pink  papers"  relating  to  President  Poincare,  accord- 
ing to  La  Verite,  a  socialistic  organ,  which  defended  Cail- 
laux, gave  alleged  details  of  an  agreement,  by  which  the 
President's  civil  marriage  would  be  consecrated,  if  in  return 
he  would  work  for  the  re-establishment  of  relations  be- 
tween France  and  the  Vatican.  There  were  negotiations, 
La  Verite  asserted,  in  which  M.  Klotz,  Stephen  Pinchon  and 
ex-Ambassador  Tittoni  used  a  cipher,  the  key  of  which  was 
lost  by  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior.  President  Poincare 
and  all  the  other  men  mentioned  in  this  affair  have  stamped 
this  story  as  false. 

Against  Clemenceau  Caillaux  was  said  to  have  gathered  to- 
gether various  charges  which  relate  to  Clemenceau's  visit  to 
London  during  the  Waldeck-Rousseau  ministry.  Clemen- 
ceau was  to  be  painted  by  Caillaux,  as  the  servant  of  Eng- 
land, the  man  who  planned  to  make  France,  a  British  vassal. 
The  attack  against  Clemenceau  was  to  harmonize  completely 
with  the  anti-British,  pro-German  policy  which  Caillaux  had 
been  fostering  in  every  possible  way  in  France  long  before 
the  war. 

In  the  Cabinet,  which  Caillaux  planned,  Malvy  was  to  en- 
joy still  greater  power.  The  Prefecture  of  Police,  vitally 
important  in  suppressing  counter  revolution,  was  to  be 
given  to  M.  Cecaldi,  one  of  Caillaux's  counsel  at  the  Cal- 
mette  murder  trial.  A  number  of  Generals,  which  had  par- 
ticularly distinguished  themselves,  were  to  be  side-tracked, 
and  Gen.  Sarrail  was  to  be  put  in  complete  charge  of  the 
army. 

Why  General  Sarrail?  When  the  war  became  blackest 
for  the  Allies,  was  not  General  Sarrail  suddenly  removed 
from  command  of  the  French  Army  in  Macedonia?  To 
answer  these  questions,  it  will  be  necessary  in  a  later  chapter 
to  consider  the  charges  made  by  Leon  Daudet,  editor  of  the 
royalist  paper,  L9  Action  Fran^aise,  that  certain  vitally  im- 
portant documents,  abstracted  fr»m  Gen.  Sarrail's  head- 


44  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

quarters,  found  their  way  into  the  hands  of  a  Caillaux 
editor,  from  whom  they  were  said  to  have  travelled  to  a 
Mannheim  banker,  stationed  in  Switzerland,  and  thence  to 
the  Kaiser. 

In  his  dream  of  empire  Caillaux  planned  to  curtail  the 
power  of  Senate  and  Chamber  of  Deputies,  by  compelling 
them  to  'enact  a  measure  making  him  a  virtual  dictator. 

On  July  30,  the  day  after  President  Poincare's  return 
from  Russia,  Caillaux  and  Malvy  were  still  more  frequently 
in  consultation.  It  was  on  this  day  also  that  Malvy  issued 
a  statement,  which  at  the  time  seemed  harmless,  but  which 
in  the  light  of  later  events  assumed  a  tragic  significance. 

There  had  been  a  meeting  of  the  Cabinet,  at  which  Presi- 
dent Poincare  presented  the  Russian  situation  in  much  de- 
tail. Reports  were  also  read  which  indicated  that  Germany 
was  moving  heaven  and  earth  in  her  preparations  for  strik- 
ing not  only  Russia  but  France.  The  meeting  was  in  secret, 
and  each  one  present  was  pledged  to  preserve  secrecy. 
Nevertheless,  immediately  afterward,  Minister  of  the  Interior 
Malvy  permitted  himself  to  be  quoted  as  follows : 

"We  have  received  news  from  Germany  for  which  we  did 
not  dare  to  hope.  The  situation  is  now  better  than  has 
generally  been  supposed.  It  is  possible  to  foresee  a  moment 
when  negociations  may  enter  upon  a  way  leading  to  a  favor- 
able solution  of  the  whole  matter." 

The  next  day,  July  31,  the  news  bulletins  became  still 
more  alarming.  While  Jean  was  still  toiling  over  his  type- 
writer in  the  Bonnet  Rouge  office,  Almereyda  entered  with 
an  extra  on  which  were  blazoned  these  ominious  headlines : 

"Germany  in  State  of  War." 

"British  Fleet  Off  for  North  Sea." 

"Russia  Calls  Out  Reserves." 

"Panic  in  United  States.  New  York  Stock  Exchange 
Closes." 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  45 

The  Apache  editor  in  chief  threw  the  paper  on  the  floor 
and  stamping  on  it,  exclaimed: 

"Let  the  war  come.  It  will  be  a  great  knife,  which  will 
cut  out  the  old,  dead  wood  in  France,  and  help  us  build  this 
nation  anew.  We  will  have  a  great  socialistic  state,  and  the 
friends  of  Caillaux  will  be  supreme." 

"How  about  the  arrest  of  all  those  in  Garnet  B?"  asked  a 
shaggy  headed  youth,  who  was  trying  to  puff  a  cigarette,  so 
short  that  it  fairly  burned  his  fingers.  "Does  the  gang  go 
to  jail?" 

"Nobody  goes  to  jail,"  laughed  Almereyda.  "I  have  seen 
Malvy  about  that." 

As  his  Apache  visitor  left  the  room,  Almereyda  took  out 
of  his  desk  a  paper,  from  which  he  poured  a  little  white 
powder  upon  a  thumbnail,  and  sniffed  it  like  snuff.  It  was 
his  regular  afternoon  potion  of  cocaine.  Jean  could  not 
help  but  see  it  all,  and  shuddered.  There  was  something  so 
diabolical,  so  supernaturally  evil  about  the  man.  Almereyda 
caught  Jean's  almost  frightened  glance,  and  called  him  to 
his  desk  with  unusual  gruffness. 

"Forget  that  Lipscher  affair,"  he  muttered.  <dDon't 
ever  speak  to  anyone  about  either  Lipscher,  or  the  woman. 
That's  all.  Go." 


The  Dummy  of  Caillaux — His  Socialistic  and  Labor  Follow- 
ing— His  Friendship  for  Almereyda  and  the  Bonnet  Rouge 
Gang — His  Private  Life — A  Gambler — Caillaux  protected 
by  Bernstorff 

Within  the  next  few  hours  France  was  plunged  deep  in  the 
conflict.  On  August  1,  1914,  Germany  declared  war  on 
Russia.  She  had  already  begun  her  attack  on  France. 
Throughout  all  the  highways  and  byways,  on  land  and  sea, 
the  armed  forces  of  the  Republic  were  mobilizing.  The 
drum  beat  and  the  strains  of  the  Marseillaise  were  heard  on 
every  side.  All  the  traditional  heroism  of  the  French  na- 
tion— the  same  spirit  that  marched  to  victory  beneath  the 
imperial  colors  of  Napoleon — that  had  also  emerged  tri- 
umphant from  the  throes  of  revolution — burst  forth  now  in 
all  its  old  time  glory. 

The  patriotism  of  the  French  people  was  aroused  to  such 
a  fury,  that  the  anarchists  and  pacifists  seemed  overawed. 
Their  plans  for  an  "anti  imperialistic"  revolt  were  for  the 
time  abandoned.  German  agents,  spies,  communists,  and  all 
the  rest  of  this  same  ilk,  were  indiscriminately  swallowed  up 
in  the  great  military  machine,  which  had  sprung  up  over 
night. 

The  assassination  of  Jaures,  the  great  Unified  Socialist 
leader  alarmed  not  only  his  party  followers,  but  also  many 
other  anti  militarists  with  the  fear  of  a  like  fate.  On  the 
night  of  July  31,  he  was  dining  with  several  members  of 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  47 

the  staff  of  U  Humanite,  of  which  he  was  editor,  in  the 
Croissant,  a  famous  restaurant  near  the  Bourse.  The  party 
sat  at  a  table  near  an  open  window  facing  the  Rue  Mont- 
martre.  Suddenly,  a  hand  holding  a  revolver  was  thrust  in 
through  the  window  from  the  street  and,  before  anyone  could 
seize  the  gun,  it  fired  two  bullets  into  the  back  of  the  social- 
ist leader's  head.  Without  hardly  more  than  a  moan  Jaures 
fell  forward  upon  the  table.  He  died  within  a  few  minutes. 

The  assassin  was  Raoul  Villain,  a  clerk  of  the  civil  court  at 
Rheims.  From  his  actions  and  utterances,  he  was  thought 
to  be  demented.  His  mother  for  twenty  years  had  been  an 
inmate  of  an  insane  asylum. 

"I  killed  Jaures,  because  he  betrayed  the  country  in  lead- 
ing the  campaign  against  the  three  year  military  law,"  he 
said.  "I  believe  one  must  punish  traitors,  and  if  I  can  give 
my  life  to  such  a  cause,  I  shall  feel  my  duty  has  been  accom- 
plished. I  do  not  belong  to  any  revolutionary  or  reactionary 
league.  To  kill  Jaures  was  my  own  idea." 

For  a  time,  it  was  feared  that  the  Socialists  in  a  revulsion 
of  feeling  might  precipitate  a  governmental  drisis,  but 
Premier  Viviani  warded  off  the  storm  by  taking  immediate 
precautions.  In  a  statement,  which  he  issued  the  same  night, 
he  said: 

"A  most  abominable  crime  has  been  committed.  M.  Jaures 
was  a  statesman  and  orator  who  gave  distinction  to  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies.  He  has  been  assassinated  in  the  most 
cowardly  way,  and  personally  and  on  behalf  of  my  Colleagues 
I  bow  before  the  tomb  so  suddenly  opened  for  this  Socialist 
Republican,  who  struggled  for  such  noble  causes  and  who  in 
trying  times  patriotically  sustained  the  authority  of  the 
Government  in  the  interest  of  peace." 

In  this  hour  only  words  of  praise  for  the  dead  socialist 
were  heard.  It  was  realized,  even  by  his  most  bitter  critics, 
that  his  pacifism  was  that  of  an  idealist,  even  though  it  had 
played  into  the  hands  of  the  foes  of  France. 


When  Caillaux  heard  of  the  death  of  Jaures,  he  took  even 
greater  precautions  to  guard  himself  against  similar  attack. 
The  servants  in  his  house  were  instructed  to  keep  constant 
watch,  lest  a  stranger  work  his  way  in  under  cover  of  some 
specious  pretext,  and  try  to  assassinate  the  master.  Cail- 
laux was  thought  by  many  to  have  left  Paris  for  his  country 
place  at  Mamers. 

Malvy,  Caillaux's  dummy  in  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior, 
found  it  necessary  therefore  to  assume  outwardly  at  least 
the  responsibilities  and  duties  of  his  chief.  At  the  same  time 
that  Caillaux  hid  himself  more  and  more  from  public  view. 
Malvy  became  more  and  more  active  in  the  open.  Malvy 
tried  to  hold  together,  as  best  he  could,  the  demoralized 
forces  of  the  Caillaux  faction.  He  kept  in  constant  touch 
with  Almereyda,  the  chieftain  of  the  Caillaux's  body  guard, 
and  many  others  who  were  secretly  spreading  the  pestilence 
of  hatred  and  falsehood,  of  pacifism  and  defeatism,  and  who 
were  ever  ready  to  join  in  a  socialistic  revolution,  that  would 
make  Caillaux  the  ruler  of  France. 

The  Ministry  of  the  Interior  is  almost  within  stone's  throw 
of  the  Elysee  Palace,  where  lives  the  President  of  France. 
It  is  a  irregularly  shaped  building  with  one  wing  facing  on 
the  Rue  des  Saussaies  and  another  on  the  Rue  Cambaceres. 

From  the  corner  windows  of  the  President's  palace,  look- 
ing out  on  the  Rue  du  Faubourg  Saint  Honore,  one  can  al- 
most see  down  the  Rue  Combaceres  and  recognize  the  visitors 
at  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior,  that  go  and  come  by  this 
route. 

Here  President  Poincare,  had  he  known  at  that  time  all 
the  plottings  of  the  enemies  of  France  within  her  own  bord- 
ers, could  have  seen  Almereyda  on  the  day,  when  all  France 
was  arming  for  the  war,  hurrying  through  the  crowd,  and 
at  last  disappearing  behind  the  portals  of  the  neighboring 
building,  where  Malvy,  the  Caillaux  viceroy,  ruled  supreme. 

The  doorkeeper,  the  sentries,  all  the  petty  officials  that 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  49 

lie  between  the  outside  sidewalk  and  the  deeply  recessed  cham- 
ber, in  which  the  Minister  kept  himself  in  stately  seclusion, 
knew  Almereyda,  and  let  him  pass  by  with  a  bow  of  welcome. 
They  saw  only  his  smartly  tailored  clothes,  his  quick,  eager 
stride,  his  searching  eyes,  and  shaggy  hair.  They  had  come 
to  understand,  that  he  was  a  particular  friend  of  their 
chief,  and  to  their  minds  that  qualification  furnished  all  the 
necessary  credentials.  They  noticed  that  he  was  never  kept 
waiting  in  the  outside  office,  that  he  came  and  went  at  all 
hours,  and  sometimes  carried  to  and  fro  under  his  arm,  what 
appeared  to  be  the  documents  of  the  office,  as  if  they  were 
his  own. 

The  interview  between  Malvy  and  Almereyda  at  this  time 
determined  the  fate  of  more  than  2,500  anarchists  and  anti 
militarists,  whose  names  were  listed  in  the  Garnet  B. 

The  conversation  behind  the  closed  doors  of  Malvy's  inner 
office  can  now  be  reproduced  from  documents  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  present  French  government. 

"I  understand  that  Clemenceau  and  some  others  want  the 
Garnet  B  crowd  sent  to  prison,"  said  Almereyda. 

"Yes,  I  am  being  urged  to  carry  out  the  old  law,"  replied 
Malvy.  "So  far,  I  have  taken  no  action." 

"You  must  arrest  no  one.  You  must  issue  an  order  to 
[that  effect  at  once." 

And  Malvy  issued  the  order. 

In  Garnet  B  was  Almereyda's  own  name,  and  marked 
against  it  was  his  long  criminal  record.  There  too  were  the 
names  of  all  of  Caillaux's  Corsican  Guard,  of  Sebastien 
Faure,  and  over  two  thousand  more  plotters  against  France. 
All  were  permitted  to  go  free,  and  in  the  army,  the  navy, 
in  the  trenches,  among  the  reserves,  or  in  various  spheres  of 
civil  life,  they  were  still  able  to  work  for  the  triumph  of  the 
foe. 

During  the  next  ten  days,  the  German  guns  began  pound- 
ing to  pieces  the  fortresses  of  Liege,  and  the  Kaiser  was 


50  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

massing  still  greater  armies  for  the  thrust  through  Belgium 
into  France.  Every  hour  the  situation  in  Paris  became  more 
critical.  The  French  armies  were  being  stationed  in  the 
most  strategic  places  to  meet  the  enemy's  advance,  which,  if 
it  could  not  be  checked,  would  permit  the  Huns  to  beseige 
Paris.  At  this  time  any  information  transmitted  to  the  Ger- 
mans concerning  the  plans  of  the  French  military  leaders, 
might  permit  the  enemy  to  triumph  at  the  very  onset. 

The  military  police,  accordingly,  became  most  active. 
They  tried  to  round  up  all  who  might  be  suspected  as  spies 
or  as  interfering  in  any  way  with  military  operations.  They 
picked  up  not  a  few  of  the  criminals,  which  Malvy's  civil 
police  had  allowed  to  go  free. 

Almereyda  made  another  hurried  visit  to  Malvy's  inner 
office.  He  protested.  He  insisted  that  the  men  who  had 
been  thrown  into  prison  were  innocent,  that  such  arrests 
were  in  violation  of  the  promises  which  Malvy  had  made 
when  the  war  began. 

"They  are  my  friends,  I  will  vouch  for  them,"  said  Alme- 
reyda. 

The  appeal  of  the  King  of  the  Apaches  met  with  instant 
approbation  at  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior.  A  note  was 
dictated,  bearing  date  of  August  10,  1914,  accompanying  a 
list  of  names  which  Almereyda  had  submitted  to  Malvy 
and  transmitted  to  M.  Laurent,  Prefect  of  Police,  which 
read: 

"It  would  be  desirable  that  the  persons  who  figure  in  this 
list  and  for  whom  M.  Almereyda,  who  is  trustworthy,  can 
answer,  be  set  free  as  soon  as  possible." 

And  at  once  the  gang  was  liberated. 

During  all  this  time  Malvy  and  Caillaux  were  in  constant 
communication.  Ever  since  he  took  an  important  part  in 
politics,  Malvy  had  never  been  more  than  Caillaux's  tool. 
He  was  the  type  of  man,  who  believes  that  success  results 
easiest  from  following  another  who  possesses  greater  power, 


51 

and,  if  possible,  some  day  succeeding  to  that  power.  In  the 
ward  politics  of  Tammany  Hall  he  would  be  popularly  known 
as  an  "organization  man."  He  was  younger  than  Caillaux, 
more  modest,  but  just  as  ambitious. 

Caillaux  found  early  that  Malvy  could  be  trusted  in  the 
various  coups,  which  Caillaux  executed  with  such  dexterity 
as  to  mystify  the  outside  public  completely.  Malvy  was  per- 
mitted to  know  how  the  trick  was  done.  Malvy  was  a  good 
wirepuller,  a  good  fixer.  He  could  be  commissioned  by 
Caillaux  to  this  or  that  confidential  mission,  and  his  master 
felt  assured  that  all  the  details  would  be  carefully  at- 
tended to. 

Malvy  also  spared  Caillaux  the  task  of  shaking  hands  with 
the  common  herd,  a  task  which  Caillaux  abhorred.  Malvy 
met  the  "boys"  in  the  headquarters  of  the  Radical  Social- 
ists, brought  them  Caillaux's  messages  and  Caillaux's  francs. 

If  Malvy  made  any  money  out  of  politics,  he  apparently 
did  not  keep  it.  He  confessed  freely  to  all  his  friends,  that 
he  loved  the  card  table  and  the  roulette  wheel  altogether  too 
much.  Many  times,  when  he  came  in  the  morning  to  his 
office,  pale  and  haggard,  and  hardly  more  than  looked  at  his 
mail  before  hurrying  away  to  dejeuner  and  an  afternoon 
sleep,  he  would  casually  explain  that  he  had  been  gambling 
all  night  long,  and  had  lost. 

In  the  street  Malvy  always  sought  the  opportunity .  of 
greeting  friends.  At  times  when  Caillaux  would  ride  past 
his  constituents  behind  the  drawn  curtains  of  his  limousine, 
with  a  body  guard  of  Almereyda's  Apaches  before  and  be- 
hind, Malvy  would  stroll  along  the  sidewalk,  bowing  and 
smiling  to  all  who  recognized  him  and  returned  his  words  of 
greeting. 

Malvy,  like  Caillaux,  had  behind  him  the  powerful  follow- 
ing of  the  Radical  Socialists.  He  had  also  the  sympathy  of 
the  Unified  Socialists,  who  represented  the  labor  unions,  the 
working  men,  and  the  anti  capitalists. 


52  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

As  Minister  of  the  Interior,  Malvy  controlled  the  police 
machinery  throughout  France.  The  prefects  of  police  were 
his  subordinates.  The  Surete  Generate,  or  secret  service 

bureau,  which  contains  most  of  the  skeletons  from  the  closets 
of  everybody,  who  builds  houses  with  secret  closets,  was  also 
under  his  immediate  control.  Its  director  was  also  a  sub- 
ordinate of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior. 

Having  all  this  power  in  his  hands,  Malvy  was  able  to 
exert  a  tremendous  influence  in  elections,  and  there  were 
many  scores  of  Deputies  who  felt  they  owed  him  more  than 
a  vote  of  thanks.  So  popular  had  he  become  among  the  lead- 
ers of  his  own  party,  that  they  demanded  his  retention  in  the 

Cabinet,  no  matter  who  might  be  the  Premier.  He,  there- 
fore, served,  as  Minister  of  the  Interior,  in  the  war  Cabinet 
of  Viviani,  the  coalition  Cabinet  of  Briand,  and  the  cen- 
tralized Cabinet  of  Ribot.  He  did  not  fall  until  Clemenceau, 
braver  than  any  of  his  predecessors,  tore  the  mask  from  his 
face. 

Meantime,  the  tide  of  war  was  rolling  ever  nearer  Paris. 
On  August  20  the  Germans  had  crashed  through  the  first 
defenses  of  Belgium,  forcing  the  Belgian  line  to  fall  back 
on  Louvain.  King  Albert  and  his  court,  with  all  the  state 
departments  and  state  archives,  had  fled  from  Brussels  to 
Antwerp.  Brussels  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  and  the 
Germans  redoubled  their  attacks  in  the  drive  toward  Paris. 

By  September  5  the  First  German  Army,  pouring  into 
France  from  the  north,  was  making  every  possible  effort  to 
turn  the  French  left.  Francis  A.  March,  in  his  "History  of 
the  World  War,"  has  described  the  situation  in  France  during 
this  crisis,  as  follows: 

"The  First  Germany  Army,  carrying  audacity  to  temer- 
ity, had  continued  its  endeavor  to  envelop  the  French  left, 
had  crossed  the  Grand  Morin,  and  reached  the  region  of 
Chauffry,  to  the  south  of  Rebais  and  of  Esternay.  It  aimed 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  53 

then  at  cutting  Joffre  off  from  Paris,  in  order  to  begin  the 
investment  of  the  capital. 

"The  Second  Army  had  its  head  on  the  line  Champaubert, 
Etoges,  Bergeres,  and  Vertus. 

"The  Third  and  Fourth  Armies  reached  to  Chalons-sur- 
Marne  and  Bussy-le-Repos.  The  Fifth  Army  was  advancing 
from  the  Argonne  as  far  as  Triaucourt-les-Ilettes  and  Juive- 
court.  The  Sixth  and  Seventh  armies  were  attacking  more  to 
the  East. 

"The  French  left  army  had  been  able  to  occupy  the  line 
Sezanne,  Villers-St.  Georges  and  Courchamps.  This  was 
precisely  the  disposition  which  the  General  in  Chief  had 
wished  to  see  achieved.  On  the  4th  he  decided  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  it,  and  ordered  all  the  armies  to  hold  themselves 
ready.  On  the  evening  of  the  5th,  he  addressed  to  all  the 
commanders  of  armies  a  message  ordering  them  to  attack. 

"  'The  hour  has  come,'  he  wrote,  'to  advance  at  all  costs 
and  to  die  where  you  stand  rather  than  give  way.' ' 

Then  followed  the  First  Battle  of  the  Marne,  in  which 
during  seven  days  of  heroic  fighting,  the  French  broke 
through  the  advanced  lines  of  the  Germans  and  driving  them 
back  in  disorder,  saved  Paris,  and  recaptured  half  of  the  in- 
vaded districts  of  northeastern  France. 

During  these  lurid  days,  when  the  fate  of  the  French 
Republic  hung  in  the  balance,  Caillaux  remained  in  Paris. 
The  President  and  Cabinet,  all  the  departments  of  govern- 
ment, the  governmental  records,  and  most  of  the  men  of 
wealth  and  their  families  had  sought  refuge  in  Bordeaux. 
For  the  time  being  the  chief  seaport  of  the  Bay  of  Biscay 
had  become  the  capital  of  France. 

But  Caillaux  remained  behind.  Even  when  the  German 
guns  had  reached  Conesse,  only  twelve  miles  away  from  the 
outskirts  of  Paris,  Caillaux  lingered.  He  stayed  but  to  see 
the  Germans  defeated,  the  Hun  tide  of  invasion  turned  back, 
the  "contemptible  British  Army"  holding  the  foe  with  uncon- 


54  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

querable  heroism,  the  plans  of  a  socialistic  revolution  aban- 
doned by  even  the  most  daring  of  his  followers,  and  his  own 
life  in  still  greater  jeopardy.  Meantime,  he  entered  the 
army,  as  a  paymaster. 

On  October  22,  1914,  Caillaux  and  his  wife  were  riding 
in  an  open  cab  along  the  Boulevard  des  Capucines  which  lies 
between  the  great,  columned  Church  of  the  Madeleine,  and 
the  Opera.  On  either  side  were  gathered  the  usual  crowds, 
which  even  in  spite  of  the  war  assembled  on  the  sidewalks  in 
front  of  the  cafes  and  brasseries  for  an  afternoon  glass  of 
wine  or  a  cup  of  coffee. 

As  they  were  about  to  turn  into  the  Place  de  la  Opera, 
where  a  half  dozen  boulevards  and  avenues  converge  like  the 
spokes  of  a  gigantic  wheel,  someone  recognized  Caillaux,  and 
the   news   spread   like   wildfire.         Many    of   the   spectators 
did  not  know  that  Caillaux  had  gone  into  the  army,  until 
they  saw  him  riding  past  them  in  the  full  uniform  of  an 
army  paymaster.     His  wife  wore  the  white  armlet  of  the 
Red  Cross.    Of  a  sudden  a  woman  cried : 
"Voila  Caillaux,  T  espion  Allemand" 
(There  is  Caillaux,  the  Germany  spy.) 
The  multitude  surged  toward  the  Caillaux  carriage  as  if 
to  seize  its  occupants  and  drag  them  through  the  streets. 
Caillaux  protested,  but  the   crowd   only  become  the  more 
furious. 

"A  bas  Caillaux."  "Mort  pour  V  espion  Allemand"  "Mort 
pour  le  traitre"  (Down  with  Caillaux)  (Death  for  the  Ger- 
man spy)  (Death  for  the  traitor)  were  some  of  the  cries  which 
greeted  the  man,  who  once  was  Premier  of  France. 

From  somewhere  a  volley  of  dirt  picked  up  from  a  pile  of 
refuse  in  a  back  areaway  fell  upon  Caillaux  and  his  wife,  and 
amid  the  storm  of  missies  a  filthy,  long  bundle  of  rags,  such 
as  are  used  to  turn  the  water  to  right  or  left  when  flushing 
the  street  descended  into  Mme.  Caillaux's  lap.  Caillaux's 
face  turned  an  ashen  white.  Shielding  his  eyes  with  one  arm, 


CAILLAUX 


"The    Master    Mind    behind   the  Great  Conspiracy.       He 

would   have   destroyed   France     to     mount     to     greater 

power  upon  its  ruins." 


55 

he  lifted  his  wife  from  the  carriage  with  the  other,  and 
fought  his  way  through  the  mob  to  a  closed  cab,  which 
hurried  off  as  fast  as  its  little,  snorting  motor  could  propel 
it. 

The  next  that  Paris  heard  of  Caillaux  was  a  report, 
printed  Oct.  30,  that  he  was  spending  a  fortnight  in  a 
fortress  because  of  a  speech  he  had  made  to  troops  in  the 
trenches.  The  Duke  de  Rohan  told  the  story  in  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies,  as  follows: 

"Caillaux  this  week  went  to  Doulens,  where  he  found  re- 
servists and  territorials  belonging  to  his  political  consti- 
tuency. He  said  to  them : 

"  'You  seem  to  be  undergoing  tremendous  hardships.  If 
any  of  you  would  like  to  be  transferred  to  a  less  dangerous 
position,  you  have  only  to  tell  me.  The  situation  is  exceed- 
ingly grave,  for  we  are  fighting  the  world  alone.  The 
British  troops  are  of  no  assistance  to  us.' ' 

Finding  that  he  could  not  carry  on  his  secret  negotiations 
with  Germany  without  going  to  some  neutral  country,  Cail- 
laux hurried  his  plans  for  a  trip  to  South  America.  Finally, 
on  Nov.  14,  1914,  Caillaux  and  his  wife  left  Bordeaux  on  the 
steamship,  Perou,  bound  for  Puerto  Cabella  and  La  Guayra 
in  Venezuela.  There  were  all  kinds  of  stories  printed  at  the 
time  to  explain  Caillaux's  going.  One  was  that  he  had  gone 
into  enforced  exile.  Another  explained  that  he  intended  to 
go  to  Brazil  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  Brazilian  raw 
materials  and  foodstuffs  for  France,  that  formerly  were  im- 
ported from  Germany  and  Austria.  It  was  also  reported 
that  Caillaux  would  inquire  into  the  proposed  reorganiza- 
tion of  the  French  South  American  cables  and  would  attempt 
to  replace  the  German  lines  operated  by  way  of  Teneriffe, 
Monrovia  and  Pernambuco. 

Beneath  all  this  camouflage  Caillaux  redoubled  his  efforts 
to  bring  about  his  long  prepared  scheme  of  splitting  the 
Entente  by  stirring  up  a  hatred  of  England  among  the 


56  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

French  people,  concluding  a  separate  peace  between  France 
and  Germany,  and  bringing  Italy  and  Spain  into  the  war 
on  the  side  of  the  Central  Powers.  At  this  time  Italy  was 
still  neutral.  She  did  not  declare  war  against  Austria  until 
May  23,  1915,  and  against  Germany  until  Aug.  28,  1915.  In 
South  America  at  this  time  the  position  of  Germany  was  in 
urgent  need  of  such  a  master  of  intrigue,  as  Caillaux.  None 
of  the  countries  of  the  New  World  except  Canada  had  ever 
thought  of  entering  the  war,  and  Germany  was  making 
every  effort  to  use  these  neutral  nations  to  her  own  advan- 
tage. 

It  had  long  been  the  hope  of  Berlin  to  create  a  great 
Latin  league,  hostile  to  England.  Accordingly  all  kinds  of 
German  propaganda  to  inflame  the  Latin  mind  with  jealousies 
and  hatred  of  Great  Britain  and  the  Anglo  Saxon  were  scat- 
tered throughout  South  and  Central  America.  In  Mexico  these 
seeds  of  pestilence  found  a  peculiarly  fertile  soil.  Germany 
easily  persuaded  many  Mexicans  to  believe  that  the  United 
States  had  all  the  Anglo  Saxon  iniquities  of  England,  and 
many  more,  and  while  Mexican  bandits  crossed  the  Rio 
Grande  on  missions  of  murder  and  rapine  German  agents 
in  the  United  States  tried  to  involve  this  country  in  a  war 
with  Mexico,  which  would  prevent  us  from  furnishing  the 
Allies  with  arms  and  munitions. 

At  this  time  the  German  Embassy  in  Washington  became 
the  great  clearing  house  for  all  the  German  espionage  and 
intrigue  in  the  New  World.  Bernstorff,  under  the  cloak  of 
the  Swedish  diplomatic  service  and  through  other  hidden 
channels,  kept  Berlin  informed  of  the  movements  of  ships,  the 
employment  and  payment  of  German  spies,  the  destruction 
by  bombs  and  fires  of  munition  plants  and  factories  engaged 
in  making  war  supplies,  the  many  mysterious  strikes 
and  acts  of  sabotage  all  over  the  United  States,  which 
were  all  planned  to  cripple  the  cause  of  the  Allies. 

When  Caillaux  reached  the  Argentine,  he  found  a  very 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  57 

active  and  powerful  German  influence,  not  only  in  trade  cir- 
cles, but  in  politics.  He  found  that  it  reached  the  very  top 
of  the  government. 

In  Buenos  Ayres  Caillaux  got  in  touch  with  Count  Lux- 
burg,  German  Minister  to  Argentina,  who  will  always  be 
remembered  as  having  best  revealed  the  German  policy  of 
brutality  and  dissimulation  in  his  "sunk  without  a  trace" 
cablegram. 

A  policy  much  the  same  as  this  had  long  been  followed  by 
Caillaux.  He  had  long  tried  to  sink  the  French  ship  of 
State  without  leaving  a  trace  of  his  perfidy.  In  Count 
Luxburg,  therefore,  he  found  a  peculiarly  congenial  part- 
ner. The  two  of  course  were  never  seen  together.  They 
sought  to  work  without  leaving  a  trace  of  their  joint  enter- 
prise. Through  go-betweens  and  in  other  ways  Caillaux 
informed  Luxburg  of  his  ceaseless  efforts  to  bring  about  a 
separate  peace  with  France  and  the  establishment  of  a  great 
Latin  combination,  that  would  help  Germany  destroy  Eng- 
land. 

One  of  those  who  carried  messages  back  and  forth  between 
Luxburg  and  Caillaux  was  Count  James  Minotto,  a  German 
nobleman  with  an  Italian  name,  a  son-in-law  of  Louis  F. 
Swift,  the  Chicago  packer,  who  was  living  in  Buenos  Ayres 
at  this  time. 

Minotto  was  caught  in  the  United  States,  after  he  had 
tried  to  obtain  a  place  in  the  United  States  Naval  Intelligence 
Service.  After  a  period  of  internment  in  the  prison  near 
Fort  Oglethorpe,  Ga.,  he  was  brought  to  New  York  City  and 
examined  by  the  Attorney  General  of  New  York  State  who 
was  acting  for  the  French  Government.  Confronted  by  in- 
controvertible evidence,  whcih  had  already  been  obtained 
from  other  sources,  Minotto  confessed.  He  said  that  his 
mother  before  her  marriage  was  Agnes  Sorna,  a  famous  Ger- 
man actress.  In  New  York  City,  he  said,  she  had  won 


58  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

special  fame  as  the  star  of  Hauptmann's  "Sunken  Bell," 
produced  in  German  at  the  old  Irving  Place  Theatre. 

In  Argentina,  Minotto  told  everybody  that  he  was  employ- 
ed by  a  great  New  York  banking  institution.  Under  this  cam- 
ouflage he  got  into  communication  with  Luxburg,  and  during 
the  time  he  was  in  the  Argentine  capital  he  was  in  confer- 
ence with  Luxburg  nearly  every  day.  He  was  also  in  almost 
daily  touch  with  Caillaux,  and  thus  he  came  to  know  many 
of  the  details  of  the  great  plot  to  disrupt  the  Entente  with 
a  separate  French  peace  and  an  anti  British  Latin  alliance. 
In  these  details,  Minotto  said,  Malvy  figured  constantly,  as 
Caillaux's  chief  representative  in  France,  who  as  a  Cabinet 
Minister  could  keep  Caillaux  in  touch  with  all  the  inner 
secrets  of  French  governmental  affairs. 

Investigations  also  revealed  the  fact  that  Minotto  had  been 
in  touch  with  Count  von  Bernstorff,  the  German  Ambassa- 
dor to  the  United  States,  through  whom  Luxburg  sent  many 
of  his  communications  to  Berlin. 

Before  Caillaux  returned  to  France,  German  raiders  in  the 
South  Atlantic  had  been  capturing  and  sinking  the  vessels 
not  only  of  the  belligerent  nations,  but  also  of  neutrals.  For 
example,  the  William  P.  Frye,  an  American  bark,  on  January 
28,  1915,  fell  a  prey  to  the  German  sea  wolves.  It  was 
generally  believed  that  the  Teutons  maintained  secret  bases 
on  the  South  American  coast  where  they  received  wireless 
instructions  from  Berlin  for  their  voyages  of  piratical  ad- 
venture. 

Ever  fearing  for  his  life,  Caillaux  besought  even  the  pro- 
tection of  the  enemy.  His  appeal  was  granted,  as  shown  in 
the  following  message,  which  Bernstorff  received  in  Wash- 
ington by  way  of  Havana,  and  on  February  4,  1915,  for- 
warded to  Berlin: 

"Tol.  Rio  de  Janeiro,  telegraphs: 

"  'Steamer  Araguaya  left  Buenos  Ayres  Jan.  30.     The 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  59 

Captain  is  carrying  important  papers.  Capture  very  desir- 
able. Caillaux  is  on  board.  In  case  of  capture  Caillaux 
should,  in  an  unobstrusive  way,  be  treated  with  courtesy  and 
consideration.  Can  you  inform  our  cruisers? 

"  'BERNSTORFF.'  n 

Another  message,  which  also  reveals  the  terror  in  Cail- 
laux's  mind  was  sent  by  Bernstorff  to  Berlin  accompanying 
the  first  cablegram.  It  read: 

"Buenos  Ayres  telegraphed  the  following: 

"  'Caillaux  has  left  Buenos  Ayres  after  a  short  stay,  and 
is  going  direct  to  France,  evidently  on  account  of  the 
(undecipherable)  scandal,  which  he  regards  as  a  personal 
attack  upon  himself.  He  speaks  contemptuously  of  the 
President  and  the  rest  of  the  French  government,  with  the 
exception  of  Briand.  He  sees  through  the  policy  of  England 
perfectly.  He  does  not  anticipate  the  complete  overthrow 
of  France.  He  sees  in  the  war  now  a  struggle  for  existence 
on  the  part  of  England. 

"  'Although  he  spoke  much  of  the  "indiscretions  and 
clumsy  policy"  of  Wilhelmstrasse  and  professed  to  believe  in 
German  atrocities,  he  has  in  essentials  hardly  changed  his 
political  orientation. 

"  'Caillaux  welcomed  indirect  courtesies  from  me,  but 
emphasized  the  extreme  caution  which  he  is  obliged  to  show, 
as  the  French  government,  he  said,  had  him  watched  even 
here. 

"  'He  warns  against  the  excessive  praise  bestowed  upon 
him  by  our  papers,  especially  the  "Neue  Freie  Press,"  and 
desired  on  the  other  hand  that  the  Mediterranean  and 
Morocco  agreements  should  be  adversely  criticised.  Our 
praise  injures  his  position  in  France. 


60  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"  'Caillaux's  reception  here  was  cool.  His  report  about 
Brazil  had  nothing  new.  On  his  return  to  France  he  will 
begin  to  reside  in  his  own  constituency.  He  fears  Paris  and 
the  fate  of  Jaures. 

"  'BERNSTORFF.' " 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  GROWS  BOLDER 

Defeated  in  Drive  to  Capture  Paris,  Germany  Spreads  Pestil- 
ence Behind  the  Lines — Aimer ey da  and  Malvy  Protect 
Alien  Enemies — Almereyda's  Sudden  Riches — His  Lurid 
Life 

The  Germans  were  guilty  of  using  poison  gas  for  the  first 
time  in  warfare,  when  on  April  22,  1915,  they  poured  a 
flood  of  deadly  fumes  upon  the  Canadians  at  Ypres,  and 
then  charged  upon  the  heaps  of  writhing,  dying  men. 

Before  this  battle  of  Ypres,  however,  Germany  began 
another  campaign  of  poison,  in  which  she  tried  by  means  of 
the  most  insidious  propaganda  to  kill  the  very  soul  of 
France.  As  soon  as  her  first,  great  drive  against  Paris 
failed,  she  revived  her  old  time  scheme  of  destroying  France 
through  treachery,  of  demoralizing  the  French  with  fears  and 
doubts,  of  seeking  to  persuade  them  it  was  folly  to  war 
against  the  Teuton,  of  stirring  up  hatred  against  England, 
of  urging  a  separate  peace  and  a  Franco-German  alliance, 
as  the  only  solution  of  the  European  problem. 

In  pursuance  of  this  plan  Caillaux  was  negotiating  with 
Luxburg  in  Buenos  Ay  res,  and  Malvy  and  Almereyda  were 
cooperating  with  pacifists,  defeatists  and  anarchists  in  Paris. 
By  January,  1915,  the  great  offensive  of  the  enemies  within 
the  republic  was  well  under  way. 

Spies  and  German  agents  of  all  kinds  smuggled  themselves 
into  France  by  way  of  Switzerland  and  Spain.  Pamphlets 
urging  soldiers  to  quit  fighting  and  demand  peace  found 

61 


62  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

their  way  into  the  trenches.  Circulars  and  posters  outlining 
a  Bolshevik  revolution  were  distributed  among  the  workers 
of  munition  plants.  Labor  unions  were  incited  to  declare 
strikes,  that  would  cripple  transportation  or  the  manufac- 
ture of  war  supplies. 

Almerejda  became  even  more  active  and  powerful  in  the 
Ministry  of  the  Interior.  He  found  it  no  longer  necessary 
to  consult  Malvy  every  time  he  wanted  a  carload  of  prison- 
ers liberated,  or  tickets  of  sojourn  issued  to  Germans,  Aus- 
trians  and  Turks  who  wished  to  stay  in  Paris  unmolested. 

The  intricate  machinery  of  obtaining  cards  of  identifica- 
tion at  the  office  of  the  Prefecture  of  the  Police,  the  process 
of  furnishing  one's  name,  the  names  of  parents,  the  place  and 
date  of  birth,  and  answering  a  score  of  other  questions,  as 
to  one's  past  history,  was  practically  brushed  aside,  when  it 
interfered  with  Almereyda's  friends. 

Now  and  then  the  military  police  would  force  the  arrest 
of  suspects ;  but  while  the  prisoners  were  being  put  aboard 
trains  to  be  carried  from  Paris  to  the  internment  camps, 
Almereyda  would  have  Malvy,  as  head  of  the  civil  police,  set 
the  men  free.  Once,  when  Malvy 's  subordinates  were  a  little 
slow  in  carrying  out  his  orders,  Almereyda  hurried  to  the 
Ministry  of  the  Interior,  and  without  the  formality  of  send- 
ing in  his  name,  walked  into  the  inner  office. 

"These  arrests  must  stop,"  cried  the  Chief  of  the  Apaches, 
tossing  a  paper  containing  a  long  list  of  names  upon  Malvy's 
desk.  "These  are  all  our  men.  We  can  never  hold  our  own 
people  together,  and  permit  them  to  be  treated  in  this 
fashion." 

Malvy  looked  up  at  the  strangely  luminous  eyes  of  the 
visitor — eyes  in  which  a  mind  made  almost  mad  by  drugs 
burned  with  an  uncanny  lustre — and  then  picked  up  the 
paper.  The  Apache  chieftain  seemed  to  read  the  Minister's 
mind. 

"Of  course  there  will  be  a  great  hue  and  cry  from  the 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  63 

Conservatives,  from  men  like  Daudet,  who  will  use  the  black 
ink  of  his  L'  Action  Franfaise  to  paint  you  a  traitor,"  said 
Almereyda.  "But  all  that  those  fellows  say  will  be  dis- 
counted. They  will  not  be  believed,  simply  because  they  are 
your  political  enemies.  The  socialists  never  listen  to  them, 
even  when  they  are  telling  the  truth." 

Almereyda  passed  a  cigarette  case  to  the  Minister,  who 
merely  glanced  at  the  fortune  of  diamonds  with  which  the 
monogram  was  set. 

The  leader  of  the  Corsican  Guard  did  not  need  to  repeat 
his  request.  Orders  were  given  that  his  letter  to  the  Prefect 
of  Police  be  immediately  obeyed.  The  letter  read  : 

"Enclosed  is  a  list  of  some  poor  devils  who  have  been 
arrested,  and  whom  in  accord  with  M.  Malvy  and  M.  Richard 
(director  of  the  secret  service  bureau)  I  ask  you  to  release. 

"If  I  thought  that  there  might  be  any  danger  or  even 
embarrassment  for  the  country,  I  would  not  make  this  re- 
quest. 

"Thanks,  kindest  regards. 

"(Signed)      Miguel  Almereyda." 

The  prisoners  were  at  once  set  free. 

Another  letter  which  was  produced  later  in  court  and 
which  showed  Almereyda's  ability  to  liberate  prisoners  with- 
out even  a  visit  to  the  Minister's  private  office,  was  written  to 
M.  Leseyeux,  an  assistant  of  M.  Paoli,  Secretary  General  of 
the  Prefecture  of  Police.  It  read: 

"Kindly  give  M.  Paoli  my  thanks  and  express  to  him  my 
gratitude  for  having  liberated  some  poor  devils,  whom  I 
recommended  to  you. 

"I  am  aware  that  you  often  make  errors,  but  they  are 
excusable.  You  would  make  me  particularly  happy,  if  you 
would  communicate  this  letter  also  to  M.  Paoli  and  ask  him 
for  authorization  to  order  the  liberation  of  the  entire  car- 
load this  evening,  if  possible." 

Then  followed  a  list  of  ten  men. 


64  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

From  many  of  those  whom  he  befriended  with  tickets  of 
sojourn,  stays  of  execution,  orders  of  liberation,  and  other 
favors  he  was  able  to  get  from  the  Prefecture  of  Police 
and  the  Surete  Generate,  Almereyda  obtained  various  "tokens 
of  good  will."  In  the  case  of  M.  Rabbat,  for  example,  Alme- 
reyda received  what  Rabbat  called  a  "loan"  of  5,000  francs. 
For  Rabbat  Almereyda  obtained  the  suspension  of  a  decree 
of  exile. 

And  what  manner  of  man  was  Rabbat,  for  whom  Alme- 
reyda interceeded  so  successfully?  The  answer  is  to  be 
found  in  the  report  of  M.  Peres,  head  of  a  commission  which 
finally  dug  to  the  bottom  of  the  intrigue,  corruption  and 
treason  of  Malvy's  administration.  I  quote  now  from  the 
Peres  report: 

"Rabbat  was  an  Ottoman  subject.  He  lived  in  Paris  for 
some  years,  and  with  the  aid  of  funds  of  more  than  suspicious 
origin,  founded  a  bank  in  which  he  co-operated  with  a  certain 
Zucco,  already  condemned  six  times.  It  was  a  swindling 
enterprise. 

"Although  he  had  been  condemned  on  June  20,  1913, 
Rabbat  still  continued  to  live  in  Paris  after  his  term  in 
prison,  and  was  still  in  Paris,  when  war  was  declared.  As 
soon  as  Turkey  entered  the  conflict,  he  asked  a  permit  of 
sojourn,  which  was  granted  without  any  difficulty  on  Nov. 
26,  1914,  despite  his  past  record. 

"Rabbat  was  left  at  large.  He  became  suspiciously  active. 
Finally  he  ran  up  against  the  Surete  Generate,  (Malvy's 
Secret  Service  Bureau).  It  seems  that  his  mistress,  who  had 
been  arrested  at  Nancy  for  espionage,  had  turned  informer 
against  him.  The  Surete  Generate  and  the  Prefecture  of 
Police  accordingly  investigated  Rabbat,  and  reported  that 
he  was  a  criminal,  who  was  suspected  of  having  relations  with 
the  enemy.  One  report,  dated  March  31,  1915,  read: 

"  'It  is  astonishing  that  in  the  face  of  facts  so  deplorable 
and  a  past  record  so  regrettable,  Rabbat  was  able  to  secure 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  65 

a  permit  of  sojourn?'  At  the  bottom  of  the  report,  the 
director  of  the  Surete  Generate  made  this  notation. 

"  'I  consider  this  man  dangerous  for  many  reasons.  I 
believe  he  should  be  interned.'  " 

At  this  stage  Almereyda's  power  was  invoked.  Records 
showed  that  the  order  of  expulsion,  which  had  been  issued 
for  Rabbat  on  April  6,  1915,  was  stayed  only  a  week  later. 
Accompanying  the  stay  came  a  letter  of  approval  from  Min- 
ister Malvy  to  the  Prefect  of  Police. 

"Meantime  Rabbat  continued  his  swindling  operations," 
continues  the  Peres  report.  "The  military  police  (which 
were  always  clashing  with  Malvy)  pointed  him  out  as  a 
suspect,  but  he  still  was  permitted  to  go  free. 

"The  part  which  Almereyda  played  behind  the  scenes  was 
revealed  by  Rabbat  himself,  who  said  that  he  was  not  only 
indebted  to  Almereyda  for  the  suspension  of  the  order  of 
expulsion,  but  also  a  safe  conduct  pass  to  enable  him  to  go 
to  Annemasso,  whence  he  had  easily  crossed  the  line  into 
Switzerland  for  the  purpose  of  selling  a  package  of  Austrian 
bonds.  Rabbat  further  added  that  he  had  loaned  Almereyda 
5,000  francs  for  his  services. 

"In  Geneva  Rabbat  started  an  agency  for  concealing 
stolen  goods  and  a  sort  of  clearing  house  for  bonds  and 
securities,  which  the  Germans  had  purloined  from  the  in- 
vaded countries.  It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  France 
obtained  his  extradition.  He  was  brought  back  to  Paris  at 
last  to  answer  for  his  crimes. 

"This  episode  should  be  considered  as  a  monument  to  the 
influence  and  power  of  Almereyda." 

In  permitting  spies  and  other  German  agents  to  operate 
unmolested  Malvy  was  continually  conflicting  with  the  milit- 
ary police,  know  as  the  Second  Burean.  The  inspectors  of 
the  Second  Burean  were  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  army, 
and  their  unceasing  efforts  to  kill  German  espionage  frequent 


66  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

lyuncovered  a  scandal,  which  pointed  straight  to  Caillaux  and 
Malvy. 

Almereyda  in  the  Bonnet  Rouge  and  Malvy,  himself,  in  fre- 
quent statements  to  the  press,  began  attacking  the  Second 
Bureau,  as  "meddlesome,  bungling,  incompetent."  Alme- 
reyda and  Malvy  insisted  that  it  prevented  the  civil  police 
from  doing  their  duty.  The  fight  became  hotter  and  hotter. 
Finally,  the  Caillaux  crowd  succeeded,  and  the  Second  Bu- 
reau was  suppressed. 

Among  the  many  cases  in  which  Malvy's  civil  police  ran 
afoul  of  the  Second  Bureau  was  the  Kovaczs  affair. 

Mme.  Kovaczs  was  an  Austrian  woman.  She  was  sent  to 
the  concentration  camp  at  Garaison,  but  returned  to  Paris 
and  took  an  apartment  at  No.  60  Avenue  du  Bois-de-Bou- 
logne.  On  many  occasions  the  neighbors  noticed  mysterious 
goings  and  comings  of  strangers,  meetings  at  unusual  hours 
of  the  night,  and  the  conversations  that  were  caught  from 
her  windows  were  always  in  German. 

Inspectors  of  the  military  police  investigated.  They 
learned  from  Malvy's  prefect  of  Police,  that  Malvy,  himself, 
had  authorized  the  woman  to  return  to  Paris  and  obtained 
for  her  a  monthly  ticket  of  sojourn  that  she  might  remain  in 
the  French  capital  unmolested. 

The  military  police,  nevertheless,  continued  their  investi- 
gation. They  discovered  that  the  woman  was  keeping  in 
constant  touch  with  various  Germans,  whose  activities  were 
also  extremely  suspicious,  and  they  accordingly  demanded 
that  the  woman  be  sent  back  to  the  concentration  camp.  In- 
stead, the  Prefecture  of  Police  at  the  request  of  Malvy  gave 
her  an  unlimited  permit  of  sojourn. 

Even  more  persistently  the  Second  Bureau  shadowed  the 
woman.  It  finally  turned  up  facts,  which  convinced  the  Com- 
mission for  the  Revision  of  Permits  to  order  the  woman 
expelled.  When  the  inspector  went  to  Mme.  Kovaczs's 
home  to  conduct  her  to  the  border,  who  should  open  the 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  67 

door  of  her  apartment  in  answer  to  his  knocking,  but  a 
French  general. 

Many  of  the  Germans,  Austrians  and  Hungarians,  who 
wanted  permits  of  sojourn  in  Paris  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  possessed  great  wealth  or  represented  enemy  interests 
of  vast  financial  power.  It  was  not  infrequently  said  in  the 
Paris  cafes,  that  100,000  francs  would  be  cheap  for  a  ticket 
cf  sojourn  for  not  a  few  alien  enemies,  whose  business  inter- 
ests necessitated  their  staying  in  the  French  metropolis. 
Some  of  the  political  agents  and  spies  in  the  employ  of  the 
German  government  would  have  paid  any  price  for  such 
permits. 

One  of  the  German  financiers,  who  fell  under  the  suspicion 
of  the  Second  Bureau,  was  M.  Vercken.  Born  in  Belgium, 
M.  Vercken  had  become  a  naturalized  French  citizen.  As  M. 
Peres  said  in  his  report : 

"Under  the  complaisant  mask  of  a  French  Council  of 
Administration,  M.  Vercken  had  been  throwing  our  mining 
concessions  into  the  hands  of  German  captains  of  industry 
before  the  war,  and  he  was  continuing  in  these  activities. 

"The  Second  Bureau  investigated  his  enterprises,  which  in 
time  of  war  could  be  used  to  compromise  our  national  pro- 
duction. After  the  suppression  of  the  Second  Bureau,  the 
Central  Bureau  of  Information,  which  succeeded  it,  did 
nothing." 

The  Central  Bureau  of  Information  was  made  subservient 
to  the  Prefecture  of  Police,  which  was  subservient  to  Malvy. 
Continuing  M.  Peres  said : 

"Another  example  is  the  Victoria  Bank.  It  has  been 
maintaining  in  Paris,  despite  its  assurances,  a  'special  bu- 
reau' of  spies,  having  as  the  territory  of  its  activities,  the 
Eastern  part  of  France.  Von  Mainen  and  Gymros,  of  the 
Victoria  Bank,  have  been  circulating  throughout  Paris  un- 
hindered since  the  invasion,  one  wearing  a  British,  and  the 


68  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

other,  a  Belgian  uniform.  In  a  Belgian  uniform  also 
promenades  M.  Artmann,  director  of  the  bank,  a  so-called 
Roumanian,  who  was  denounced  by  Georges  Prade  in  his 
campaign  in  'Le  Journal'  against  the  'Foreigners  of  the 
Interior.'  " 

Artmann  was  watched  by  the  Second  Bureau,  but  defended 
by  Almereyda,  who  attested  to  his  honesty  with  great  vigor. 
Almereyda  also  met  the  attacks  of  Le  Journal  by  defama- 
tions addressed  to  Commandant  Baudier,  head  of  the  Second 
Bureau.  Finally,  Almereyda  triumphed  over  both  M.  Prade 
and  Commandant  Baudier,  thanks  to  the  will  of  the  Minister 
of  the  Interior,  who  gave  M.  Artmann  a  ticket  of  sojourn. 
Thus  ended  the  campaign  of  Le  Journal  against  the  Boches 
of  Paris.  Thus  also  ended  the  Second  Bureau. 

Commandant  Baudier,  however,  did  not  abandon  the  Sec- 
ond Bureau  without  a  fight.  He  insisted  on  a  personal  in- 
terview with  the  all  powerful  Malvy.  Through  the  interven- 
tion of  George  Prade,  M.  Humbert,  editor  of  Le  Journal 
arranged  for  Baudier  to  see  the  Minister  of  the  Interior. 
Baudier  had  hardly  seated  himself,  before  Malvy  exclaimed: 

"I  demand  that  you  should  be  discharged  from  the  Mili- 
tary Government  of  Paris,  because  the  action  of  the  Second 
Bureau  has  not  been  in  accord  with  the  attitude  of  the  Min- 
istry of  the  Interior,  the  Prefecture  of  Police,  and  the 
Surete  Generate. 

"I  have  also  asked  and  obtained  the  discharge  of  General 
Maunoury,  General  Clergerie  and  Colonel  Monteil,  because 
in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  and  the  Senate  they  were  oppos- 
ing the  action  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior  and  praising 
the  Military  Government." 

Almereyda's  wealth  was  now  piling  up  fast.  Beside  "gifts" 
and  "loans"  from  "friends"  he  received  through  Malvy  a  re- 
gular subsidy  for  the  Bonnet  Rouge.  The  money  was  drawn 
from  the  funds  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  in  sums  of 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  69 

2,000  to  8,000  francs  and  turned  over  each  month  to  Almer- 
eyda's  newspaper. 

From  many  other  sources  Almereyda  also  gathered 
princely  tribute.  He  once  boasted  that  by  the  end  of  the 
war  he  would  be  the  richest  man  in  Paris.  But  his  friends 
shook  their  heads.  They  did  not  doubt  that  he  was  reaping 
a  golden  harvest,  but  they  knew  he  was  spending  his  riches 
even  faster  than  they  came. 

Almereyda  paraded  his  wealth.  He  was  of  that  super- 
ficial type  of  man,  who,  realizing  the  shallowness  of  his  na- 
ture, seeks  to  cover  it  up  with  the  pompous  trappings  of 
prosperity.  He  bought  his  clothes  in  the  most  expensive  and 
most  exclusive  establishments.  He  traded  his  old  automo- 
bile for  one  of  the  latest  and  most  luxurious  pattern,  and  in 
one  corner  of  the  deeply  upholstered  tonneau  he  joined  the 
afternoon  promenades  of  fashion  along  the  beautifully 
wooded  driveways  of  the  Bois  de  Boulogne. 

Beside  him  he  sometimes  took  Madame  Q,  a  lady  whom  he 
had  met  at  an  all  night  revel  at  the  home  of  the  "Cocaine 
Queen"  of  Paris,  and  who  had  formerly  been  one  of  the  most 
trusted  agents  of  Germany  at  the  French  capital,  until  she 
became  a  hopeless  victim  of  drugs. 

Almereyda's  private  life  was  the  gossip  of  the  boulevards. 
In  one  of  the  sworn  statements  of  Leon  Daudet,  which  was 
later  embodied  in  a  government  report,  Almereyda  was  pic- 
tured in  two  homes,  in  one  of  which  lived  Mme.  Clero  Alme- 
reyda, and  in  the  other,  Mile.  Emilienne  Brevannes. 

Despite  all  the  rumors  of  the  cafes,  the  two  ladies  seemed 
to  be  on  the  best  of  terms,  for  Daudet  tells  how  they  took  a 
trip  together  to  Verdun  during  the  last  days  of  1915,  when 
the  Crown  Prince  of  Germany  was  massing  all  his  forces  in  a 
gigantic  effort  to  capture  the  French  citadel.  Armed  with 
the  necessary  permits,  which  the  Caillaux  editor  had  obtained 
through  the  influence  of  friends  of  high  official  rank,  Mme. 
Almereyda  and  Mile.  Brevannes  penetrated  the  French  lines 


70  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

and  entered  the  fortress.  They  carried  with  them  a  great 
quantity  of  pacifist  and  defeatist  literature,  which  they  dis- 
tributed among  the  troops. 

Almereyda  was  soon  living  at  such  a  pace  that  one  auto- 
mobile was  not  enough.  One  by  one  he  bought  more  cars, 
until  he  maintained  a  fleet  of  six.  Finally,  he  purchased  a 
garage  in  the  Boulevard  Pereire,  where  he  kept  his  own  ma- 
chines and  rented  space  for  others.  During  one  governmen- 
tal investigation  from  which  he  emerged  successfully,  he 
explained  that  the  automobiles  he  drove  belonged  only  to  the 
garage,  and  that  his  money  came  from  a  wine  merchant, 
named  Boulet,  in  payment  for  his  campaign  in  behalf  of  the 
wine  business,  and  from  M.  Francfort  who  had  given  him 
50,000  francs  for  securing  an  important  order  from  the 
Ministry  of  Munitions. 

One  of  Almereyda's  chauffeurs  was  a  Hollander,  by  the 
name  of  Edouard  Klisser.  From  Klisser  Daudet  obtained 
information  that  the  Almereyda  automobiles  were  continually 
going  through  the  French  lines  with  packages  of  Bonnet 
Rouge  editions  for  distribution  among  the  soldiers.  During 
1915,  1916  and  1917  Almereyda's  motor  cars  sowed  the 
seeds  of  defeatism  along  the  battle  line,  and  no  one  in  or 
out  of  the  army  appeared  powerful  enough  to  stop  them. 

Klisser  also  told  of  one  occasion,  when  Malvy  and  Alme- 
reyda were  riding  together  in  an  open  automobile,  which  per- 
mitted him  to  hear  their  conversation.  The  two  were  dis- 
cussing an  impending  reorganization  of  the  cabinet,  when  it 
was  generally  believed  that  Malvy  would  be  compelled  to 
quit  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior  for  the  Ministry  of  Col- 
onies. According  to  Klisser,  Malvy  said  to  Almereyda : 

"It  is  absolutely  necessary  that  you  go  and  talk  with 
Briand.  You,  yourself,  know  how  important  it  is  that  I 
remain  in  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior." 

Briand  began  his  political  career  as  a  socialist  of  the 
extremely  radical  type.  After  he  became  Premier  he  was 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  71 

accused  by  many  of  the  socialists  of  having  abandoned  them 
for  capitalistic  interests.  At  this  time  Almereyda  was  able 
to  obtain  the  audience  of  such  statesmen  as  Briand,  because 
of  the  power  and  influence  of  his  newspaper,  and  his  popu- 
larity among  various  formidable  labor  and  socialist  organiza- 
tions. 

Klisser  said  he  was  ordered  to  drive  to  the  home  of  Briand, 
where  Almereyda  got  out  and  went  into  the  house.  After 
about  twenty  minutes  Almereyda  returned  to  the  automobile, 
and  taking  his  seat  beside  Malvy  said: 

"Well,  my  friend,  I  did  it.  You  stay  in  the  Ministry  of 
the  Interior." 

Malvy  stayed. 


CHAPTER  VI 
"THE  RED  BEE"  AND  "LA  RUCHE" 

Sebastien  Faure  and  "The  Bee  Hive" — His  Anarchist  Pamr 
phlets  Flood  Trenches — Malvy,  His  Patron — Pacifist 
Literature  Demoralizes  Army — Clemenceau's  Battle 
Against  the  Enemy  Within 

There  used  to  be  a  deeply  recessed,  shadow  haunted,  hollow 
sounding  doorway  in  a  side  street  of  Paris,  which  led  into 
a  place,  known  as  "La  Ruche"  ("The  Bee  Hive").  Past  this 
door  many  a  girl  dared  not  walk  at  night.  Within  lurked 
a  man,  whom  the  women  called  "The  Red  Bee."  Fearful 
stories  were  told  of  his  noctural  adventures,  and  so  it  came 
to  pass  that  mothers  warned  their  daughters  to  flee  at  his 
approach. 

Most  times  during  the  day  the  rumbling  noise  of  a  print- 
ing press  was  heard  within  "La  Ruche."  Strange  looking 
men,  whose  faces  were  frequently  hid  under  down-turned  hat 
brims,  passed  hurriedly  in  and  out.  Now  and  then  a  motor 
delivery  wagon  stopped  in  front  of  the  gloomy  door,  and 
from  the  depths  of  "The  Bee  Hive"  were  brought  forth  great 
packages  of  red  pamphlets,  which  were  quickly  loaded  into 
the  automobile  and  whisked  away. 

"The  Red  Bee"  was  known  to  the  Prefecture  of  Police  as 
Seba^tien  Faure,  one  of  the  most  dangerous  anarchists  in 
France.  His  name,  like  that  of  Almereyda  and  the  rest  of 
the  Corsican  Guard,  was  inscribed  in  the  Garnet  B.  Faure 
was  a  pamphleteer.  His  printing  office  swarmed  with  anarch- 
ists and  social  agitators  of  all  kinds  who  had  again  and  again 

72 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  73 

been  cast  into  prison  because  of  their  plots  to  overthrow 
France.  Most  of  them  advocated  the  same  views  as  the 
Bolsheviks  of  Russia.  Faure  was  their  leader. 

When  complaints  were  made  to  the  police  that  he  had 
attacked  little  girls,  Faure  only  laughed. 

"They  do  not  dare  touch  me,"  he  boasted.  "Malvy  is  my 
friend.  He  not  only  protects  me,  but  he  gives  me  money  to 
publish  my  pamphlets." 

And  Faure  told  the  truth.  The  police  did  not  touch  him. 
From  Malvy  he  not  only  received  the  hand  of  welcome,  when 
he  went  to  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior,  but  a  regular  gov- 
ernment subsidy  of  1,500  francs  a  month.  In  other  words, 
Malvy  had  the  government  pay  Faure  to  work  for  the  de- 
struction of  the  government. 

This  amazing  situation  was  not  fully  revealed  until  years 
afterward,  when  the  Sebastien  Faure  skeleton  in  the  Malvy 
closet  was  dragged  forth  and  cast  into  the  flames. 

Malvy's  friendship  for  Faure  showed  itself  in  many  ways. 
For  example,  when  the  Prefect  of  Seine-et-Oise  learned  that 
the  treasonable  pamphlets  of  "The  Bee  Hive"  were  being 
distributed  among  soldiers,  he  ordered  them  seized  and  made 
a  prompt  report  to  the  Council.  In  the  Council  there  was  a 
man  of  deliberative  mind,  by  the  name  of  M.  Sembat,  who 
persuaded  his  fellows,  that  it  was  better  to  reason  with  Faure 
than  to  throw  him  into  jail.  Accordingly,  an  appeal  was 
made  to  Malvy,  as  Minister  of  the  Interior  and  the  titular 
head  of  all  the  police  prefects,  to  persuade  Faure  of  the 
evil  of  his  ways. 

Instead  of  reprimanding  Faure,  Malvy  not  only  exoner- 
ated him  but  promised  to  put  him  on  the  government  pay- 
roll. He  even  handed  Faure  all  the  police  reports  concern- 
ing his  various  iniquities,  and  permitted  the  anarchist  to 
burn  them. 

This  act  in  itself  was  enough  to  have  sent  Malvy  to 
prison,  had  there  been  anyone  strong  enough  in  France  at 


74  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

that  time  to  have  enforced  the  law.  According  to  Article 
173  of  the  French  Penal  Code: 

"Any  judge,  administrator,  public  functionary  or  officer, 
who  shall  have  destroyed  or  done  away  with  any  papers  or 
documents  of  which  he  had  been  a  custodian  or  which  may 
have  been  remitted  or  communicated  to  him  by  reason  of  his 
functions,  shall  be  punished  by  a  term  of  hard  labor." 

The  interview  between  Malvy  and  Faure  took  place  Jan- 
uary 26,  1915.  Eight  or  ten  days  later,  M.  Moreau,  a  sub- 
ordinate of  Malvy  discovered  two  new  "Bee  Hive"  pamphlets 
which  he  thought  so  dangerous  that  he  immediately  reported 
they  should  be  seized.  M.  Moreau's  recommendation  was 
passed  along  by  M.  Richard,  Director  of  the  Secret  Service 
Bureau,  to  Malvy,  with  the  result  that  it  received  this  nota- 
tion: 

"Communique  to  the  Director.    It  is  ordered  not  to  seize." 

In  "La  Treve  des  Peuples,"  ("The  Truce  of  the  Peoples") 
issued  June  14,  1915,  Sebastien  Faure  urged  the  army  to 
strike.  He  said  that  on  August  1,  191.5,  all  the  soldiers 
should  lay  down  their  arms  and  go  back  to  their  canton- 
ments. Six  thousand  copies  of  this  circular  were  printed,  and 
Malvy  made  not  the  slightest  effort  to  stop  them. 

Faure's  gratitude  toward  Malvy  is  shown  by  his  letter  to 
his  friend  Mauricius,  an  anarchist  lecturer,  with  whom  he 
planned  to  found  a  defeatist  paper,  called  "Ce  qu'  il  faut 
dire,"  ("What  one  must  say")  which  later  exerted  a  far 
reaching  influence  throughout  the  army.  Under  date  of 
February  24,  1915,  Faure  wrote: 

"My  dear  Mauricius : 

"My  expectations  have  been  realized.  Without  hesita- 
tion, without  any  formality,  without  any  condition,  the  sub- 
sidy, which  I  asked,  has  been  granted  to  me.  I  hope  that  it 
shall  be  maintained  until  the  termination  of  the  war.  Thus 
'La  Ruche'  is  saved  once  more.  We  are  now  tranquil  and  of 
a  free  mind," 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  75 

Speaking  of  the  proposed  "Ce  qu'  il  faut  dire"  and  its 
defeatist  campaign,  he  added: 

"In  the  first  place  we  must  make  a  brusk  attack.  We  must 
hit  the  minds  of  the  people  quick,  quick,  if  we  wish  to  con- 
quer our  adversary,  before  it  has  time  to  stop  us." 

Thanks  to  the  subsidy  "Ce  qu'  il  faut  dire"  was  finally 
launched  with  the  motto :  "The  sacred  union  of  the  pacifists 
versus  the  chauvinists." 

Not  content  with  merely  printing  pamphlets  Faure  took 
the  stump  against  the  war.  In  the  offices  of  the  "Syndicat 
des  Terrassiers,"  on  May  20,  1915,  he  lectured  to  1,200 
people,  and  his  text  was  "Down  with  the  War."  Yet  Malvy 
continued  the  subsidy. 

Meanwhile,  there  were  many  ugly  stories  told  in  the  back 
rooms  of  "The  Bee  Hive"  concerning  the  complaints  of 
mothers  against  Faure,  to  which  the  police  paid  no  heed. 
Finally,  on  September  28,  1916,  a  demand  that  Faure  be  im- 
prisoned for  an  attack  on  two  girls  was  thought  by  the  lower 
police  officials  to  be  too  serious  to  be  dropped.  It  was  passed 
along  to  the  Prefect  of  Paris,  who  made  this  annotation  : 

"I  presented  to  Sebastien  Faure  the  observations  made  in 
the  report,  which  because  of  the  state  of  the  testimony  can- 
not give  ground  for  prosecution." 

During  the  first  year  of  the  war  Germany's  publicity 
agents  in  France  did  not  dare  use  the  newspapers  openly. 
Even  the  Bonnet  Rouge  masked  its  guns.  It  contented  it- 
self with  insidious  intimations  that  England  was  not  aiding 
France  all  she  should,  and  that  British  selfishness  was  acquir- 
ing the  rest  of  the  world  and  letting  France  bleed. 

Accordingly,  the  enemy  used  pamphlets,  which  were  anony- 
mous, whenever  necessary  to  hide  their  authorship.  Most 
of  them  were  issued  from  anarchist  and  pacifist  printing 
presses  in  Paris  and  distributed  by  secret  agents  throughout 
the  army,  the  factories  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  war 
supplies,  the  cafes  of  Paris,  the  country  hotels,  and  even 


76 

among  the  old  men  and  women,  who  were  left  to  labor  in  the 
fields. 

One  of  the  first  manifestos  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
army  authorities,  appeared  on  December  27,  1914,  when 
Caillaux  was  still  in  South  America  negotiating  with  the 
enemy  for  a  separate  peace.  It  was  first  seen  in  the  depart- 
ments of  the  southwest.  It  was  entitled  UHwmanite 
("Humanity"),  and  was  printed  in  huge  letters,  which  read: 

"Extend  your  hand  to  Germany,  who  has  never  nourished 
any  hatred  against  the  French. 

"Make  your  governing  heads  cease  fostering  and  develop- 
ing the  militaristic  and  imperialistic  spirit." 

In  January,  1915,  about  the  time  that  the  British  sank  the 
German  battle  cruiser,  "Bliicher,"  in  a  great  naval  engage- 
ment in  the  North  Sea,  another  pamphlet  from  the  same 
source  began  to  be  seen.  It  was  printed  like  a  poster,  and 
would  suddenly  burst  upon  the  view  of  the  passerby,  pasted 
to  a  wall,  or  suspended  in  a  frame  from  a  lamp  post.  This  is 
the  way  it  read: 

"Open  your  eyes  and  revolt,  O,  you  Frenchmen !  Do  not 
believe  any  longer  what  your  rulers  tell  you,  when  they  speak 
of  right  with  a  large  'R'  and  of  liberty  with  a  big  'L'?  The 
French  offensive  has  been  forever  broken.  France  has  but 
one  chance  of  saving  herself,  and  that  is  to  lay  down  her 
arms  in  the  name  of  the  higher  interests  of  humanity." 

The  Minister  of  War  was  constantly  finding  his  hands  tied 
by  Malvy.  He  learned  for  instance  that  on  July  1,  1915,  a 
special  bulletin  of  the  "Union  of  the  Metals"  was  to  appear, 
that  would  champion  the  Swiss  pacifists.  Sure  enough,  when 
the  bulletin  left  the  presses  it  contained  an  article  prohibited 
in  Switzerland.  It  appealed  for  a  world  movement  in  favor 
of  peace.  "The  massacre  of  the  peoples  must  cease,"  it  said. 

The  Minister  of  War  communicated  with  his  colleague  of 
the  Interior,  who  replied: 

"We  must  not  touch  the  Union  of  the  Metals,  nor  the  place 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  77 

where  the  paper  is  printed.  We  must  simply  endeavor  to  do 
what  we  can  on  the  outside  to  stop  its  circulation." 

The  Prefect  of  Seine-et-Oise,  who  made  the  first  complaint 
to  Malvy  about  Faure,  complained  to  Malvy's  Secret  Service 
Bureau  in  May,  1916,  that  at  Villeneuve-St.  Georges  an 
anarchist  printing  plant  was  running  at  full  blast.  The 
prefect  got  no  reply.  Some  of  the  pamphlets  from  this 
establishment  fell  into  the  hands  of  Premier  Briand,  and  on 
Dec.  29,  1916,  Briand  asked  Malvy  why  he  did  not  stop  it. 
An  investigation  followed.  The  prefect  explained  that  he 
had  asked  for  instructions  and  got  none.  After  this  explana- 
tion he  got  his  instructions  from  Malvy  immediately.  They 
were,  "Do  nothing  without  referring  the  matter  to  us." 

The  correspondence  of  soldiers  opened  by  the  censor  dis- 
covered that  this  propaganda  of  discontent,  dispair,  and 
defeat  had  a  most  insidious  influence  upon  the  troops.  Here 
is  only  one  letter,  made  public  years  afterward  in  a  trial  for 
treason.  It  was  written  by  a  soldier  to  his  sweetheart,  and 
read  as  follows: 

"My  dearest  little  Jeanne: 

"I  received  today  at  the  same  time  your  two  letters  of 
December  30  and  January  2.  In  the  one  of  December  30, 
I  found  the  manifesto  in  favor  of  peace  and  the  little  white 
sheet,  which  I  read  aloud  to  several  dozen  fellow  soldiers  in 
my  squadron.  Afterward,  I  communicated  it  to  nearly  all 
the  regiment. 

"I  put  in  it  all  my  ardor,  all  my  profound  faith,  all  the 
intonation  to  be  desired.  Everybody  approved  it.  I  was 
sure  of  their  sympathy,  but  when  I  asked  them  to  sign  their 
names,  all,  or  nearly  all  said : 

"  'Yes,  it  is  quite  true,  but  it  is  impossible.' 

"Understand  that  I  did  not  expert  them  to  act  any  other 
way,  but  I  took  advantage  of  it  to  let  them  know  what  I 
thought  of  them.  I  abused  them  to  my  heart's  content. 

"A  few  of  them,  however,  wished  to  frame  a  vigorous  reso- 


78  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

lution  and  told  us  that  we  should  wire  our  approval  and  con- 
fidence to  Sebastien  Faure.  I  was  compelled  to  check  their 
ardor,  because,  if  it  is  all  right  to  show  one's  approval,  it  is 
useless  to  expose  oneself  to  arrest  and  imprisonment." 

M.  Merillon,  the  public  prosecutor  at  the  trial,  at  which 
the  letter  was  put  in  evidence,  said  that  this  kind  of  poison 
was  being  poured  into  the  very  heart  of  France. 

"The  existence  of  such  propaganda  is  affirmed,"  he  con- 
tinued. "I  have  also  the  reports  of  nearly  all  the  command- 
ing generals,  as  for  instance,  Generals  de  Castelnau, 
Duchesne,  Humbert,  Franchet  d'  Esperey,  St.  Juste,  Bon- 
clair  and  Guillaumlat,  whom  we  are  so  happy  to  see  in  the  de- 
fense of  Paris.  And  this  is  what  these  chiefs  have  been  able  to 
prove. 

"In  Paris  there  is  a  pestilential  center,  a  revolutionary 
clearing  house,  whose  branches  reach  far  out  into  our  armies. 
Its  agents  belong  to  an  occult  organization,  and  take  their 
orders  from  Paris.  There  are  also  pamphlets  of  a  purely 
German  organization,  with  headquarters  also  in  Paris.  These 
are  all  part  of  a  campaign  instigated  by  the  Germans  for 
the  purpose  of  delivering  France  to  the  enemy. 

"A  letter  from  Gen.  Nivelle  to  the  Minister  of  War  speaks 
of  this  iniquitous  propaganda,  as  follows: 

"  'I  have  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Minister  of  the 
Interior  the  attempts  of  the  pacifists.  Knowing  that,  unless 
I  acted,  the  moral  of  the  troops  would  be  seriously  affected, 
I  deemed  it  necessary  that  strong  measures  should  be  taken. 

"  'I  would  be  very  much  obliged  to  you,  if  you  would  inter- 
cede with  M.  Malvy  in  order  to  decide  on  the  steps  to  be 
taken  to  stop  these  practices  immediately. 

"  'The  activity  and  scope  of  the  pacifist  propaganda  in  the 
army  are  constantly  increasing.  For  a  year,  pacifist  pamph- 
lets and  papers  have  been  reaching  the  troops.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  there  is  a  veritable  epidemic.  These  pamphlets 
emanate  from  the  "Libertaire,"  "The  Committee  for  the  Re- 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  79 

suming  of  International  Relations,"  "The  Syndicalist  Com- 
mittee of  Defense,"  "The  Federation  of  Metals,"  "The 
Teachers  Syndicate"  and  from  such  anarchists,  as  Sebastien 
Faure.' 

"All  these  sources  have  been  well  known  to  M.  Malvy,  be- 
cause they  were  all  revealed  to  him. 

"They  deny  the  just  cause  for  which  our  soldiers  are 
fighting.  They  defend  Germany.  They  claim  that  it  is 
impossible  to  defeat  Germany,  and  pretend  that  peace  alone 
will  solve  all  the  problems  of  the  present  hour. 

"Such  propaganda  weakens  the  offensive  spirit  of  our 
troops.  It  enervates  and  discourages  them. 

"The  opinion  of  the  General  in  Chief  is  that  the  most  dras- 
tic measures  be  adopted.  He  urges  that  the  pamphlets 
should  be  seized  in  the  printing  plants,  where  they  are  pub- 
lished; that  the  police  should  prohibit  meetings  or  discus- 
sions of  a  pacifist  and  treasonable  character ;  that  the  revolu- 
tionary journal,  'Niochavo,'  be  suppressed,  that  the  activi- 
ties of  Sebastien  Faure  and  like  agitators  should  be  stopped, 
and  that  a  normal  schedule  of  work  be  required  in  the 
arsenals  and  war  plants. 

"After  General  Nivelle  comes  General  Petain,  who  makes  a 
similar  appeal  and  demonstrates  the  necessity  of  taking  im- 
mediate action.  He  concludes  his  recommendations  by  saying : 

"  'As  for  my  part  in  this  matter,  I  shall  order  the  arrests 
of  the  agitators  in  the  cantonments  and  suppress  disorder 
and  drunkenness  as  much  as  possible.' 

"  'General  Franchet  d'  Esperey  informs  me  that  as  a  con- 
sequence of  secret  meetings,  infantry  regiments  have  de- 
cided to  march  on  Paris.  Precautions  have  been  taken. 
There  was  time  enough  to  prevent  it.5 ' 

Senator  Henri  Berenger,  who  conducted  a  special  investi- 
gation of  the  propaganda  of  pacifism  and  defeatism  in  the 
army  made  a  report  to  the  Senate  in  which  he  reached  this 
conclusion : 


80  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"Germany  did  not  only  try  to  crush  the  >  orld  by  force  of 
arms.  She  tried  also  to  dominate  it  through  espionage,  cor- 
ruption and  treason.  The  proofs  of  her  attempts  in  France 
and  among  our  allies  have  been  absolutely  established. 

"The  German  propaganda  in  our  territory  dates  away 
prior  to  the  war.  Interrupted  for  a  moment,  it  resumed  its 
work,  at  first  in  the  shade,  later  with  ever  increasing  boldness 
in  our  factories,  our  ports,  our  regiments.  It  was  resumed 
during  the  late  months  of  1914.  Soon  after  their  defeat 
upon  the  Marne  and  the  Yser,  the  Germans  realized  in  their 
trenches  that  the  war  would  be  a  long  one  and  that  the 
Franco-British  alliance,  unless  disrupted,  would  dictate  the 
terms  of  peace." 

Despite  the  protestations  of  army  officials,  the  denuncia- 
tions of  editors,  like  Daudet,  of  deputies,  like  Barres,  and 
the  constantly  increasing  fire  of  censure  from  the  guns  of 
Clemenceau's  "L9  Homme  Libre"  ("The  Free  Man"),  Malvy 
treated  all  criticism  with  contempt.  So  great  was  his  power 
and  the  power  of  his  friends  to  thwart  Clemenceau's  cam- 
paign against  official  corruption,  favoritism  and  criminal 
negligence,  that  for  a  time  the  "Tiger's"  paper  was  sup- 
pressed. But  the  "Tiger"  himself  could  not  be  caged.  He 
renamed  his  paper,  "U  Homme  Enchaine,"  ("The  Man  in 
Chains")  and  continued  the  fight. 


CHAPTER  VII 

MME.  THERESE,  ENEMY  AGENT,  VISITS  CAILLAUX 

Asks  Him  to  Meet  Lipscher  and  Discuss  Peace  Terms — 
CaUlaux  Afraid — Mme.  Therese  Also  Meets  a  Soldier  and 
Tells  the  Whole  Story — Malvy's  Police  Run  Afoul  of  the 
Scandal  and  Hush  It  Up 

Almereyda  was  sitting  in  his  office  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge 
one  December  afternoon  in  1915,  when  the  telephone  rang, 
and  a  woman's  voice  said: 

"Caron  would  not  take  the  black  cross  yet.  Will  call  you 
again  tomorrow." 

The  Apache  editor  made  no  reply.  He  hung  up  the 
receiver  and  looked  toward  the  desk,  where  Jean  used  to 
work  before  he  went  to  war. 

"That  was  Therese,"  he  said  to  himself.  Caillaux  would 
not  take  the  responsibility  of  promulgating  Germany's 
separate  peace  terms  now.  I  ought  to  assign  a  reporter  to 
watch  her.  She  is  always  meeting  somebody,  and  becoming 
too  companionable.  If  Berlin  knew  all  the  things  she  did  in 
Paris,  she  would  never  be  trusted  with  any  more  important 
missions.  But  I've  no  man  to  shadow  her.  Jean  would 
have  been  just  the  one  for  such  work.  I  had  perfect  faith  in 
him.  Whom  can  I  get?" 

Almereyda  turned  again  to  his  desk,  but  Mme.  Therese 
haunted  his  thoughts  so  persistently,  that  he  found  he  could 
not  write  his  editorial  against  British  aggression  in  Africa. 
He  became  so  upset,  that  finally  he  wheeled  around  in  his 
chair,  turned  his  back  toward  the  door,  pulled  out  of  his 

81 


82  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

pocket  a  dainty  gold  box,  which  looked  as  if  it  belonged  to 
some  lady's  chatelaine,  and  from  it  poured  upon  a  thumbnail 
a  portion  of  cocaine.  He  did  not  notice  that  it  was  twice 
his  usual  dose,  until  he  had  snuffed  it  into  his  nostrils,  and 
tilted  himself  back  against  the  wall. 

He  soon  fell  into  a  stupor. 

Had  Almereyda  not  lost  his  senses  at  that  particular  time, 
France  might  never  have  known  how  Germany  sent  a  woman 
to  Caillaux  in  his  Paris  home,  and  asked  him  to  go  to  Switzer- 
land to  negotiate  the  terms  of  a  separate  peace. 

Just  as  Almereyda  feared,  Therese  found  a  friend  with 
whom  she  talked  too  much.  The  police  got  hold  of  the 
story.  They  learned  that  the  woman  had  gone  to  Caillaux's 
house,  and  delivered  Germany's  message  to  him,  that  she  had 
written  and  received  letters  from  her  partner,  Lipscher,  an 
agent  of  the  Central  Powers,  stationed  in  Switzerland,  and 
that  in  these  letters  Caillaux  was  always  referred  to  as 
"Caron."  In  these  letters,  the  police  also  learned,  there 
was  a  peculiar  jargon,  which  was  thought  to  reveal  the 
existence  of  a  secret  order,  devoted  to  the  overthrow  of 
France  and  the  establishment  of  a  Bolshevik  state,  and  that 
its  emblem  was  a  black  cross. 

Because  these  revelations  implicated  Caillaux,  Malvy  had 
them  smothered.  The  Duverger  woman  was  allowed  to  es- 
cape. All  the  papers  in  the  case  were  pigeonholed.  Not 
until  the  Clemenceau  premiership  was  bold  enough  to  put 
Malvy  on  trial  and  dig  out  of  Malvy's  own  files  the  proof  of 
his  criminal  negligence,  were  the  secret  machinations  of 
Caillaux,  Lipscher,  and  Mme.  Therese  made  public. 

The  story  is  best  told  by  translating  the  official  report 
of  this  affair  made  by  M.  Peres  to  the  French  Senate.  M. 
Peres  used  only  the  sworn  testimony  of  witnesses  and  the 
official  records  of  military  and  civil  authorities.  The  tragic 
circumstances  surrounding  the  submission  of  this  report  to 
the  Senate,  the  vast  number  of  other  plots  interwoven  into 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  88 

the  Great  Conspiracy,  which  it  also  uncovered,  will  be  told 
in  Chapter  XX. 

The  part  of  the  report  containing  "The  Lipscher  Affair" 
reads  as  follows : 

"During  the  first  days  of  October,  1915,  the  Surete  Gen- 
erale  (Secret  Service  Bureau  of  the  Minstry  of  the  Interior) 
by  the  various  branches  of  information  in  Holland,  was 
advised  of  the  departure  for  France  of  a  woman,  called 
Therese  Duverger,  mistress  of  M.  Lipscher,  a  Hungarian. 

"M.  Lipscher  was  already  well  known  in  Paris,  as  an 
agent  of  international  character.  His  name  dates  back  to 
the  trial  of  Mme.  Caillaux,  in  which  he  was  called  to  testify. 
It  is  he,  who  had  negotiated  with  M.  Calmette,  in  the  name 
of  Count  Tisza,  a  contract  for  the  publication  in  lLe  Figaro* 
of  a  series  of  articles  favorable  to  the  Hungarian  govern- 
ment. M.  Caillaux  had  purchased  from  Lipscher  a  photo- 
graph of  this  agreement  to  use  it  as  a  weapon  against  the 
victim  of  his  wife. 

"At  the  beginning  of  the  war  Lipscher  wa(s  at  Brussels 
with  the  Duverger  woman.  After  the  occupation  of  Brus- 
sels by  the  Germans,  he  obtained  from  the  German  Com- 
mander a  safe  conduct  to  go  to  the  Hague.  His  numerous 
letters,  his  frequent  visits  to  various  cities,  his  journeys 
abroad,  and  certain  remarks  which  he  was  heard  to  make 
to  his  entourage  in  The  Hague  during  several  months  stay 
there,  caused  the  agents  of  the  French  secret  service  to  point 
him  out  as  a  suspicious  individual. 

"On  October  11,  1915,  the  Duverger  woman  disembarked 
at  Dieppe.  She  said  she  was  going  to  her  family  at  Arcueil- 
Cachant.  She  was  watched,  and  it  was  reported  that  she 
arrived  at  Arcueil-Cachant.  The  Prefecture  of  Police  was 
asked  to  shadow  her  movements. 

"On  November  16,  1915,  the  Surete  Generate,  (Malvy's 
Secret  Service  Bureau)  again  called  the  attention  of  the 
Prefect  of  Police  to  watch  the  woman.  This  action  resulted 


84  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

from  a  telegram  received  from  the  Minister  of  France  at  The 
Hague  by  the  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs  in  Paris,  in- 
structing that  special  measures  be  taken  to  intercept  her 
correspondence. 

"M.  Gauthier,  Commissaire  of  Police  in  charge  of  watch- 
ing the  retrenched  camp  of  Paris,  under  the  direction  of  the 
military  authorities,  sent  an  official  order  to  the  Post  Office 
of  Arcueil-Cachant,  stating  that  ah1  the  mail  which  the  woman 
received  or  posted  should  be  copied  for  a  special  report. 

(M.  Gauthier  was  connected  with  the  military  police,  over 
which  Malvy  had  no  jurisdiction.  He  was  a  member  of 
what  was  known  as  the  Second  Bureau.) 

"A  letter  soon  arrived  from  Lipscher,  dated  December  13. 
It  came  from  Zurich,  Switzerland. 

"First  of  all  Lipscher  apologized  for  not  having  written 
more  often  and  at  greater  length,  and  added  in  a  peculiar 
jargon,  unintelligible  to  the  uninitiated; 

"  'And  then  I  looked  for  your  letter  today  from  Friday 
of  that  famous  visit  before  putting  my  affair  on  the  road  of 
realization,  but  that  letter  has  not  arrived  ye\..  Today  I  am 
wondering  what  sort  of  a  yarn  has  offered  again ' 

"Simultaneously  M.  Gauthier  seized  two  letteers  in  which 
an  automobilist  soldier,  named  Beauquier,  who  at  that  time 
was  on  leave  in  Paris,  was  asking  the  Duverger  woman  to 
come  and  have  a  talk  with  him.  A  watch  was  set,  and  sure 
enough,  on  December  18,  1915,  at  3  p.  m.  in  the  parlor  of  the 
Hotel  Terminus,  which  was  designated  as  the  rendezvous, 
Beauquier  was  found  in  a  tete  a  tete  with  Mme.  Therese. 

"After  the  interview  Beauquier  discovered  that  he  was 
being  shadowed.  Of  his  own  accord  Beauquier  went  to  the 
inspector  and  said: 

"  'I  do  not  want  to  be  compromised  by  this  woman.  I 
made  an  appointment  with  her  to  obtain  some  news  about 
my  wife,  whom  I  left  in  Brussels.  This  Mme.  Therese  is  a 
mistress  of  Lipscher,  an  agent  of  the  German  government^ 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  85 

who  desires  to  make  overtures  of  peace  to  M.  Caillaux.  Lip- 
scher  and  Mme.  Therese  have  been  writing  letters  to  each 
other  about  Caillaux  and  in  this  correspondence  they  always 
refer  to  him,  as  'Caron.' 

"Bauquier  informed  the  inspectors  that  he  was  willing  to 
tell  all  he  knew,  if  he  were  to  be  examined  as  a  witness  in  any 
official  proceeding. 

"On  the  morning  of  December  21,  1915,  Commissaire 
Gauthier  gave  a  verbal  account  of  these  facts  to  his  chief, 
M.  Mouton  and  at  the  same  time  he  requested  authorization 
to  obtain  the  complete  declaration,  which  Beauquier  was 
ready  to  make. 

"This  should  have  been  done  at  once,"  said  M.  Peres,  in 
commenting  upon  the  situation,  "because  the  soldier's  leave 
Was  to  expire  the  following  day. 

"But,  M.  Mouton  did  not  see  fit  to  comply  immediately 
with  the  commissaire's  request.  Quite  impressed,  as  he  ex- 
plained later,  by  the  gravity  of  the  affair,  he  asked  Commis- 
saire  Gauthier  to  write  without  further  investigation  a  report 
containing  what  facts  he  already  had,  and  to  bring  it  to  him 
at  the  Cafe  de  Paris,  where  he  was  to  have  dejeuner  with  his 
friends,  M.  Richard  and  M.  Maunoury. 

(M.  Richard  was  the  Director  of  the  Surete  Generate.  M. 
Maunoury  was  Director  of  the  Prefecture  of  Police  of 
Paris.  Both  officees  were  under  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior. 
Both  men  were  subservient  subordinates  of  Malvy.) 

"M.  Gauthier  did  as  he  was  told.  He  made  out  a  report 
and  took  it  to  M.  Mouton  at  the  Cafe  de  Paris. 

"According  to  sworn  statements  of  M.  Richard  and  M. 
Mouton,  which  they  have  since  made,  they  left  the  table  for 
a  moment  and  with  M.  Maunoury,  gathered  in  the  embrasure 
of  a  window.  They  talked  the  matter  over  and  deliberated 
upon  the  advisability  of  informing  the  Minister  of  the  In- 
terior concerning  an  affair,  which  involved  a  former  Presi- 
dent of  the  Council,  (M.  Caillaux). 


86  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"M.  Mouton  returned  to  his  office  and  told  M.  Gauthier 
to  give  him  all  the  papers  in  the  case.  In  spite  of  Gauthier's 
protests  M.  Mouton  told  him  to  drop  the  whole  matter." 

In  a  deposition  to  a  Commissaire  of  the  Sixth  Army,  Jan. 
30,  1916,  Beauquier  again  revealed  the  most  accurate  in- 
formation concerning  Lipscher  and  his  relations  with  M. 
Caillaux.  Beauquier's  sincerity  is  undisputed.  Most  of 
the  facts  were  easily  verified. 

The  statement  of  Beauquier,  which  follows,  is  a  translation 
of  sworn  testimony: 

"At  the  time  of  mobilization,"  he  said,  "I  found  myself  in 
Belgium,  where  I  had  a  rubber  factory.  I  did  not  leave 
Belgium  until  August  20,  the  day  the  Germans  entered 
Brussels.  I  arrived  in  France  August  27  or  August  28.  I 
lived  in  Paris.  On  February  6,  I  was  declared  fit  for  army 
service  and  on  that  same  day  I  was  incorporated  in  the 
171st  regiment  of  infantry. 

"At  that  time,  not  having  received  any  news  of  my  wife 
and  children  in  Brussels,  I  thought  I  would  write  to  a  woman 
friend  of  Lipscher,  who  had  remained  with  him  in  Brussels, 
asking  her  to  be  good  enough  to  tell  me  about  my  family,  for 
I  had  known  her  very  well.  I  did  not  receive  any  reply  to  my 
letter.  The  reason,  as  I  learned  later,  was  that  she  was  no 
longer  in  Belgium.  Then  in  July  or  August,  1915,  I  got  a 
letter  from  Lipscher,  mailed  from  Zurich,  Switzerland. 

"  'I  give  you,'  he  wrote  me,  'the  address  of  my  friend. 
She  is  now  in  France,  at  Arcueil-Cachan,  with  her  par- 
ents.' 

"I  wrote  Mme.  Duverger  at  the  home  of  her  family,  and 
she  replied  almost  immediately.  She  wrote: 

"  'I  saw  Mme.  Beauquier  during  the  last  days  preceeding 
my  departure.  I  am  at  your  disposal  to  give  you  all  the 
information  I  can,  and  I  would  be  very  happy  to  be  able  to 
meet  you,  durimg  your  next  furlough.' 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  87 

"I  made  an  appointment  for  the  end  of  December,  in  the 
salon  of  the  Hotel  Terminus. 

"I  met  her  there,  and  we  talked  for  a  while.  At  the  last 
minute,  I  said  to  her,  (for  I  had  known  Lipscher  for  a  long 
time)  : 

"  'And  your  bird,  Lipscher,  how  is  he?' ' 

"Those  were  exactly  the  words  I  used.    She  answered: 

"  'You  ought  to  know  that  he  is  still  in  Switzerland.' " 

"  'No,'  I  said,  'I  only  know  I  received  a  furious  letter 
from  him.  .  .  .' 

"My  impression  was  that  the  woman  had  been  a  very  weak 
instrument  in  the  hands  of  a  very  violent  man,  who  had  used 
her,  not  as  a  spy,  no,  I  do  not  think  that,  but  as  his  inter- 
mediary in  reaching  a  certain  political  personage,  to  whom 
he  was  submitting  certain  propositions.  Mme  Duverger  said 
to  me: 

"  'I  correspond  with  him  constantly.' 

"  'How  do  you  do  it  ?'  I  asked.  'The  correspondence  must 
be  suspected.' 

"  'Oh,  our  correspondence,'  she  replied,  'is  written  in  a 
certain,  peculiar  way.  I  cannot  be  more  precise. 

"  'We  employ  for  'our  correspondence  the  name  "Caron" 
for  M.  Caillaux.  We  do  that  for  fear  that  the  correspond- 
ence might  be  seized.  Why,  do  you  know,  day  before  yes- 
terday I  was  at  his  house.' 

"  'The  house  of  M.  Caillaux?'  I  asked  in  astonishment. 

"  'Yes,'  she  replied.  'It  was  my  third  visit.  My  first 
visit  there  was  on  the  moment  of  my  arrival  in  France.  It 
was  necessary  at  that  time  to  give  M.  Caillaux  certain  Ger- 
mans plans  for  a  separate  peace,  which  were  to  be  trans- 
mitted to  him  through  the  channel  of  Lipscher.  The  con- 
ditions for  a  separate  peace  were  in  substance  as  follows: 

"  '  "The  part  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  occupied  by  the  French 
shall  remain  the  property  of  France.  The  other  part  shall 
be  autonomous.  We  will  evacuate  France  and  Belgium  with- 


88  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

out  indemnity,  and  you  shall  give  us  a  free  hand  with  Eng- 
land.'" 

"  'The  German  Commander  at  Brussels  had  given  this 
plan  to  Lipscher  with  a  pass  for  him  and  myself  to  go  to 
Switzerland. 

*'  'M.  Caillaux  refused  to  regard  this  proposition  as  being 
acceptable.  We  returned  to  Belgium.' 

"Some  months  passed,"  continued  Beauquier  in  telling  of 
the  further  movements  of  Lipscher  and  his  companion,  ."and 
then  they  gave  Lipscher  a  pass  for  his  mistress,  and  she  de- 
parted to  Holland  to  go  from  there  to  England,  that  she 
might  re-enter  France.  They  demanded  of  Lipscher  that  he 
go  back  again  to  Switzerland,  to  Zurich,  in  order  that  he 
might  receive  there  new  peace  plans,  which  he  would  trans- 
mit to  her.  For  that  purpose,  after  all  arrangements  had 
been  made,  he  wrote  Mme.  Duverger  to  arrange  an  interview 
for  him  with  M.  Caillaux. 

"  'When  I  saw  M.  Caillaux,'  said  Mme.  Therese,  'I  indi- 
cated to  him  that  it  was  the  desire  of  M.  Lipscher  to  meet  him 
to  discuss  peace  plans.  M.  Caillaux  answered  me  thus: 

"  'I  shall  not  go  to  Switzerland,  because  I  am  watched.  If 
I  went  there,  I  would  certainly  be  assassinated.'  Then  he 
added,  'Wait,  it  is  too  early,  now.' 

"After  some  more  words,  I  accompanied  Mme.  Therese  to 
the  Lafayette  Galleries  (a  great  department  store  not  far 
from  the  Hotel  Terminus). 

"I  felt  that  Mme.  Duverger  would  be  watched,  and  that 
everybody  who  had  any  dealings  with  her  would  also  be  put 
under  surveillance.  So,  the  next  morning  on  leaving  my 
hotel  I  suddenly  retraced  my  steps.  I  perceived  that  I  was 
being  followed.  I  was  stunned.  Although  innocent,  I  knew 
that  I  was  compromised  in  something,  which  was  not  proper. 
I  stopped  opposite  the  St.  Lazare  station. 

"At  that  juncture,  I  said  to  myself  that  it  was  much 
simpler  to  face  the  music.  I  approached  one  of  the  inspect- 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  89 

ors  and  told  him  that  he  had  been  following  me  sinct  the 
night  before,  and  added: 

"  'Here  is  my  name  and  address.  I  have  met  a  person  who 
seems  to  have  compromised  me,  but  it  was  concerning  a 
wholly  proper  matter.  I  wanted  to  learn  some  news  of  my 
wife  and  my  property  in  Belgium.  I  am  ready  to  make  a 
statement  before  any  one  of  you.  In  half  an  hour  I  expect 
to  meet  some  friends  at  the  Cardinal.'  Finally,  they  let  me 
go  with  the  understanding  that  I  would  give  my  statement 
later. 

"The  next  morning  an  inspector  of  the  police,  M.  Sur- 
zure,  came  to  see  me.  He  demanded  that  I  put  in  writing 
what  I  knew  of  the  relations  between  Mme.  Duverger,  M. 
Caillaux  and  M.  Lipscher.  I  replied: 

"  *I  have  never  corresponded  with  him,  but  with  his  mis- 
tress, to  whom  I  have  written  in  Belgium.  It  is  Lipscher 
who  replied  to  me,  because  it  was  he  who  received  the  letter, 
which  bears  on  its  back  the  address  of  Lipscher  in  Zurich.' 

"I  repeated  then  what  Mme.  Duverger  had  told  me.  M. 
Surzure  answered: 

"  'This  is  very  important.  I  am  going  to  make  a  report 
to  my  chiefs.  I  will  ask,  if  you  please,  that  you  meet  me  at 
six  o'clock  this  evening  at  the  Place  de  Clichy.  I  will  in- 
troduce you  to  M.  Gauthier,  who  is  a  Commissaire  of  the  re- 
trenched camp  of  Paris.  At  six  o'clock  I  was  introduced  to 
M.  Gauthier,  to  whom  I  again  repeated  in  detail  the  story 
that  I  had  told  to  M.  Surzure. 

"About  two  months  afterward,  when  I  was  back  in  the 
army,  I  received  a  visit  from  a  commissionaire  of  police  con- 
nected with  the  Surete  Generale,  who  questioned  me  for  the 
first  time  under  a  commission  of  the  secret  service  bureau. 
I  made  a  very  complete  deposition,  and  gave  to  him  all  the 
letters  which  I  had. 

"For  the  next  two  years  I  heard  no  more  of  the  matter. 
Then,  about  six  months  ago  I  was  brought  to  Paris  to  testify 


90  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

before  M.  Priolet,  and  again  before  Captain  Bouchardon." 

(Captain  Bouchardon  was  the  investigator,  who  dug  up 
most  of  the  evidence,  which  sent  many  of  the  plotters  in  the 
Great  Conspiracy  to  death  or  imprisonment.) 

"I  have  known  Lipscher  some  fifteen  yearjs  in  Palris. 
During  the  first  of  those  years  he  was  interested  in  business 
connected  with  the  Paris  Stock  Exchange.  Later,  three  or 
four  years  before  the  war,  I  met  him  in  Brussels  and  learned 
that  his  activities  had  become  political.  He  also  had  some 
connection  with  the  Paris  newspaper,  Le  Journal,  from  which 
he  had  obtained  a  card,  as  correspondent  photographer  for 
Hungary.  With  this  card  he  went  to  see  M.  Calmette  at 
the  Figaro  office,  and  obtained  from  him  at  a  late  hour  one 
evening,  when  no  editor  or  other  employe  was  there,  a  con- 
tract, by  which  the  Figaro  agreed  to  print  certain  political 
articles  for  the  account  of  the  Hungarian  government. 

"As  a  matter  of  fact  the  Hungarian  government  did  not 
know  anything  about  the  affair,  but  Lipscher  was  a  cos- 
mopolitan courtier,  making  money  out  of  everything.  With 
the  contract,  M.  Lipscher  departed  for  Hungary,  where  he 
proceeded  by  taking  things  in  their  inverse  order.  He  de- 
clared that  some  French  journals  could  be  persuaded  to  print 
articles  favorable  to  the  Hungarian  government,  and  he 
asked  to  be  its  press  agent  for  France.  The  trick  was  easy. 
He  was  at  once  made  the  government  foreign  correspondent 
.(that  is  his  official  title)  at  a  salary  of  17,000  kroners  a 
year. 

"But  Lipscher  had  two  irons  in  the  fire. 

"The  first  one  was  to  make  money  on  his  contract  of 
publicity,  which  amounted  to  60,000  francs  and  of  which  he 
had  reserved  for  himself  20  per  cent,  on  all  articles  printed. 

"Lipscher's  second  object  was  more  subtle.  He  had  met 
in  Belgum  a  M.  Spier j,  who  had  established  a  gambling  house 
at  Buda  Pest,  but  on  the  fall  of  Count  Tisza  had  lost  the 
concession.  The  new  minister  had  expelled  Spier  j.  When 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  91 

Lipschcr  met  Spier j,  plans  were  afoot  for  his  return  to 
Hungary,  and  the  re-establishment  of  his  gambling  house. 
All  of  which  necessitated  the  cancellation  of  the  decree  of 
expulsion. 

"This  was  accomplished  by  Lipscher,  thanks  to  his  title 
of  official  correspondent  of  the  Hungarian  government.  In 
England  he  introduced  Spierj  to  the  Daily  Graphic,  so  as  to 
make  him  also  a  correspondent  for  the  Hungarian  govern- 
ment. The  Daily  Graphic  accepted.  Spier j's  case  was 
placed  before  the  Austro-Hungarian  ambassador,  and  as  a 
result  Spierj  was  reinstated  and  returned  to  Buda  Pest. 

"Some  time  later  Lipscher  turned  completely  and  espoused 
the  cause  of  the  Hungarian  opposition.  Obliged  to  quit 
Hungary  he  went  to  Brussels. 

"I  kept  track  of  all  of  Lipscher's  doings,  because  I 
thought  he  was  a  very  interesting  creature  from  a  psycho- 
logical point  of  view.  He  often  consulted  me.  He  knew  I 
had  studied  law. 

"In  the  first  quarter  of  1914,  the  Hungarian  opposition 
tried  to  reach  M.  Caillaux.  At  about  the  same  time  Lipscher 
facilitated  an  interview  between  Count  Karolyi  and  M.  Cail- 
laux. Two  Hungarian  deputies  were  also  present.  The  in- 
terview took  place  in  Paris.  Other  interviews  followed,  at 
one  of  which  Lipscher  sold  Caillaux  the  paper,  which  accord- 
ing to  Lipscher  proved  that  Calmette  had  signed  a  contract 
to  espouse  the  cause  of  the  Hungarian  government  without 
it  being  known  to  the  other  officers  of  the  Figaro. 

"One  day  before  the  trial  of  Mme.  Caillaux,  when  Lip- 
scher was  in  Brussels,  he  said  to  me: 

"  'I  have  just  seen  Caillaux  in  Paris.  We  are  convinced 
that  Mme.  Caillaux  will  be  acquitted.' 

"Lipscher  added  that  he  hoped  that  such  an  event  would 
make  him  a  French  citizen  and  assure  him  of  a  position  in 
the  Credit  Fonder  Argent'm,  plus  an  additional  gift  from 


92  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Caillaux  of  15,000  francs.  I  congratulated  him,  and  he 
answered  : 

"  'That  is  what  is  called  politics.'  " 

Despite  the  fact  that  they  had  discovered  a  German  agent 
in  the  heart  of  Paris,  presenting  a  plan  of  treason  to  a  for- 
mer Premier,  Malvy's  Prefecture  of  Police  and  his  Surete 
Generate,  with  all  their  host  of  directors,  secretaries,  under 
secretaries,  inspectors  and  other  bureaucratic  job  holders, 
did  nothing.  The  Duverger  woman  was  allowed  to  escape. 
The  soldier,  who  offered  all  his  services  in  trying  to  uncover 
the  plot,  was  ignored. 

The  Peres  report  also  revealed  the  fact  that  M.  Maunoury, 
Director  of  the  Prefecture  of  Police,  even  went  so  far  as  to 
inform  Caillaux  personally  of  the  alleged  treason  in  which 
Beauquier's  story  had  involved  him.  Regarding  the  final 
.efforts  of  the  police  to  hush  up  the  scandal,  the  Peres  report 


"A  letter  was  written  on  March  2,  1916,  by  the  Prefec- 
ture of  Police  to  the  Director  of  the  Surete  Generate,  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  'Relative  to  the  information  I  sent  you  on  January  5 
flast,  in  regard  to  the  Duverger  (Therese)  lady,  living  at 
10  bis,  rue  des  Deux  Gares,  Arcueil-Cachant,  and  her  rela- 
tions with  the  military  automobilist,  Beauquier  (30th  Com- 
pany of  the  Engineer  Corps,  Postal  Sector  182),  I  have 
ordered  a  surveillance  upon  the  correspondence  exchanged 
between  these  persons. 

"  'From  the  examination  of  the  last  letters  thus  seized,  it 
appears  that  this  measure  has  no  longer  any  usefulness. 

"  'I  beg  therefore  to  request  you  to  inform  me  if,  under 
these  conditions,  the  requisition  of  seizure  which  I  delivered 
concerning  this  correspondence  cannot  be  lifted. 

"  'The  Prefect  of  Police 
"  'Laurent.' 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  93 

"No  allusion  is  made  to  Lipscher,  whose  name  is  not  even 
mentioned. 

"And  this  despite  the  fact  that  before  the  seizure  was 
finally  lifted  a  letter  from  Lipscher  was  opened,  which  proved 
of  even  greater  importance.  It  was  dated  February  14, 
1916.  It  contained  mention  at  great  length  of  a  'Joseph' 
(Caillaux's  first  name  was  Joseph)  and  of  the  reasons,  which 
probably  did  not  permit  him  to  assume  the  'management  of 
the  affair,  contrary  to  his  desires.'  Lipscher  quoted  the 
opinion  of  two  high  German  personalities,  designated  as 
'Jadot'  and  'Oscar,'  as  follows: 

"  'Past  events  and  the  situation  in  which  he  (Caillaux) 
now  finds  himself, — a  situation,  alas,  too  badly  shaken, — 
must  have  made  him  incapable  of  handling  such  affairs. 
Indeed,  they  see  in  him  no  longer  the  man  who  could  dominate 

the  opinion  of  the  adversary He  is  no  longer  what  he 

was,  and  would  be  unable  to  succeed.'.  .  .  . 

"  'Under  these  conditions,  I  shall  be  in  search  of  another 
element  more  capable  and  better  placed.  There  are  dozens 
of  them,  especially  if  the  person  chosen  knew  what  are  the 
real  pretensions  of  Jadot  &  Co.  I  repeat  it  to  you,  proofs 
are  in  hand  of  the  sincere  pretensions  of  the  part  of  Jadot.' 

"At  this  very  moment,  when  this  correspondence  assumes 
such  a  tremendous  importance,  when  the  Prefecture  of  Police 
is  advised  of  the  far-reaching  machinations  of  enemy  agents, 
of  their  intention  to  address  other  personalities,  the  one 
already  in  view  being  unsatisfactory,  the  Prefect  of  Police 
requests  that  further  inspection  of  this  correspondence  be 
stopped. 

"This  request  is  submitted  thirteen  days  later  to  the  con- 
ference, which  takes  place  'every  morning  at  the  Surete  Gen- 
erale.  The  persons  attending  the  conference  were  M.  Rich- 
ard, director;  M.  Sebille,  controller  general;  two  delegates 
from  the  Minister  of  War,  of  whom  one  was  Captain  Ladoux. 


94  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

The  demand  is  received  without  any  opposition,  and  the  next 
day,  the  Prefecture  of  Police  is  authorized  to  lift  the  seizure 
of  this  German  agent's  mail. 

"M.  Malvy  has  declared  he  never  saw  any  of  the  records 
of  the  case.  He  considered  the  affair,  as  altogether  insigni- 
ficant and  devoid  of  interest." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

BOLD,  ADVENTURER 

His  Fantistic  Life — A  Charmer  of  Ma/ny  Hapless  Worn- 
>en — Marriage  as  a  Fine  Art — His  Sudden  Wealth — How 
He  Became  a  Pacha — Why  He  Was  Drawn  to  Germany — 
His  Secret  Meetings  with  Abbas  Hilmi — His  Great  Pacifist 
Publicity  Scheme — German  Bribes — Mme.  Caillaux  and 
Bolo 

There  was  another  plotter  against  France,  who  was  to  be 
seen  at  times  in  conference  with  the  chief  conspirators,  and 
then  as  suddenly  lost  from  view.  Today  he  would  be  sipping 
a  glass  of  champagne  in  the  Cafe  de  Paris,  or  driving  a 
coach  and  four  through  the  groves  of  Fontainebleau.  To- 
morrow he  might  be  found  in  a  little  wineshop  in  Marseilles, 
with  a  glass  of  red  Burgundy  on  the  black  stained  table  be- 
fore him,  and  a  group  of  chance  companions  gathered  round, 
while  he  told  some  wild  story  of  adventure.  Or  he  could  be 
seen  in  a  gambling  house  in  Cairo,  playing  at  big  stakes 
with  turbaned  musselmen  and  losing  or  winning  with  the  same 
appearance  of  good  nature. 

Such  was  Bolo. 

Always  ready  for  some  bold  enterprise,  in  which  deception 
and  intrigue  were  most  essential,  Bolo  welcomed  the  great 
war  because  of  the  tremendous  opportunities  it  offered  his 
unscrupulous  ambition. 

It  made  no  difference  to  him,  whether  he  were  a  spy  for 
France  or  Germany,  a  collector  of  war  munitions  graft,  a 
legislative  lobbyist  and  briber,  or  the  proprietor  of  a  sub- 

95 


96  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

sidized  pacifist  newspaper.  Any  one  of  these  rather  risky 
but  unusually  profitable  undertakings  would  have  been  just 
as  acceptable  to  him. 

As  it  happened,  there  was  more  money  in  serving  Germany. 
Accordingly,  Bolo  went  out  looking  for  German  gold.  He 
found  it,  and  in  great  abundance.  From  a  petty  sharper 
and  third-rate  swindler  he  rose  to  be  the  Prince  of  Spies,  a 
brilliant  figure  amid  the  glitter  and  flattery  of  Paris  salons, 
an  object  of  never  ceasing  wonder  and  gossip  along  the 
boulevards. 

To  understand  Bolo,  one  must  know  his  life.  From  official 
reports  of  government  investigators,  it  is  now  possible  to 
reveal  the  whole  story. 

In  the  year  1867  in  Marseilles  there  lived  a  M.  Bolo,  who 
had  drifted  there  from  some  obscure  town  on  the  Rhone,  and 
who  tried  to  please  the  patrons  of  his  little  cafe  with  wines 
of  unusually  rare  vintage.  In  the  quality  of  his  goods  he 
was  extremely  proud,  and  accordingly  his  business  grew 
One  day  in  the  same  year,  he  brought  a  baby  into  the  wine 
shop,  and  announced  amid  the  cheers  and  handclappings  of 
the  crowd,  that  the  boy's  name  was  Paul  Marie  Bolo. 

Among  the  wine  kegs  the  child  grew.  It  was  an  excellent 
school.  He  learned  not  books  but  men.  He  saw  human  na- 
ture undisguised  by  the  hypocrisies  of  a  more  elegant  society, 
for  in  the  French  cafe  of  the  middle  class,  men  and  women 
gather  during  the  noon-time  or  after  the  work  of  the  day, 
to  discuss  the  problems  of  life,  no  matter  how  trivial  or  how 
tremendous,  no  matter  whether  they  relate  to  the  planting 
of  a  garden  or  the  overthrow  of  an  empire. 

Paul  learned  rapidly,  and  when  his  father  sent  him  to  col- 
lege the  boy  decided  that  he  already  had  education  enough. 
The  studies  of  the  class  room  he  found  especially  stupid,  and 
after  a  series  of  escapades  in  which  he  sought  escape  from  the 
deadly  tedium  of  college  life,  he  suddenly  quit  school,  and 
struck  out  for  himself, 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  97 

By  nature  he  was  singularly  endowed.  Blond,  tall,  slim, 
with  silken  moustache  and  coaxing  eyes,  of  gracious  and 
vivacious  manner,  he  found  many  friends  especially  among 
women  folk,  and  almost  always  to  their  misfortune. 

For  a  while  he  was  a  hair  dresser,  and  later  having  learned 
the  beginnings  of  dentistry,  he  established  himself  with  a 
partner  by  the  name  of  Joseph  Boulan,  in  a  prettily  fur- 
nished office,  which  had  every  appearance  of  long  established 
prosperity.  At  the  end  of  three  months  the  Tribunal  of 
Commerce  of  Marseilles  was  obliged  to  pronounce  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  partnership. 

From  hair  dressing  and  dentistry  Bolo  turned  to  the 
cereal  business.  He  found  a  partner  in  a  M.  Panon,  an 
artist  painter,  whose  wife  at  once  became  enamored  of  his 
ready  wit  and  flashy  clothes,  and  who  for  a  time  successfully 
hid  from  her  husband  her  newly  aroused  affections. 

Bolo  and  Panon,  however,  did  not  make  money  in  cereals, 
so  they  turned  to  lobsters.  Failing  in  lobsters,  they  tried 
to  recoup  their  losses  in  a  park  and  restaurant.  When  this 
final  venture  was  about  to  collapse,  Bolo  eloped  with  his 
partner's  wife. 

The  couple  fled  to  Barcelona,  Spain.  Finding  Barcelona 
too  big  a  city  they  gravitated  to  the  more  tranquil  Valencia. 
At  last  all  their  money  was  spent,  and  Bolo  sought  employ- 
ment in  a  cafe,  serving  drinks  and  waiting  on  table,  as  he 
used  to  do  as  a  lad  in  his  father's  wine  shop.  They  lived  for 
a  time  in  a  garret,  until  finally  his  companion  gave  him  her 
jewels  to  pawn,  and  with  what  little  cash  was  left,  they  went 
to  Paris. 

At  No.  IS  Rue  de  Strasbourg,  a  noisy  little  street,  op- 
poste  the  "Gare  de  1'Est"  railroad  station,  where  amid 
the  traffic  might  also  be  heard  the  clatter  of  the  ambulances 
of  the  great  Military  Hospital  St.  Martin,  a  half  block  dis- 
tant, the  couple  made  their  abode.  They  lived  in  a  little 
back  room,  bought  bits  of  bread  and  sausage  at  a  nearby 


98  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

shop,  and  with  the  cheapest  kind  of  red  wine,  they  just 
managed  to  keep  body  and  soul  together.  From  the  Rue  de 
Strasbourg  they  moved  to  No.  16  Rue  Chaptal.  Then  by 
some  good  turn,  which  he  never  revealed,  Bolo  obtained 
enough  money  to  rent  a  little  apartment  at  No.  31  Rue 
Bonaparte  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Seine  not  far  from  the 
Boulevard  Saint  Germain.  Simultaneously  he  appeared  in  a 
wealth  of  new  clothes,  swinging  a  gold  headed  cane  and 
carrying  a  Russian  leather  pocket-book  that  contained 
engraved  cards,  which  proclaimed  an  office  at  No.  112  Rue 
de  Richelieu. 

From  here  on  the  story  is  best  told  in  the  report  of  Cap- 
tain Bouchardon,  which  was  made  the  basis  of  the  gov- 
ernment's prosecution  and  conviction  of  Bolo  and  his  fellow 
conspirators. 

"The  only  lucrative  transaction  which  Bolo  had  in  this 
office,"  said  Captain  Bouchardon,  "was  a  condemnation  to 
a  term  of  imprisonment.  It  came  about  this  way.  He  had  a 
housekeeper  by  the  name  of  Mme.  Miege.  Having  learned 
that  she  was  the  possessor  of  1350  francs  in  a  saving  bank, 
he  persuaded  her  to  trust  him  with  the  money.  He  said  he 
could  make  it  return  her  wonderful  profits,  if  invested  in  his 
business  in  the  Rue  Richelieu. 

"But  Mme.  Miege  did  not  realize  any  income  at  all  from 
her  investment,  and  riot  being  able  to  get  her  money  back, 
she  began  to  waylay  and  threaten  Bolo  on  every  occasion. 
After  paying  back  500  francs,  and  not  finding  Mme.  Miege 
any  the  less  troublesome,  he  suddenly  disappeared  from 
Paris.  The  woman,  however,  still  kept  up  the  hunt  and 
many  years  later  sued  him  in  the  Eleventh  Chamber,  which 
condemned  him  by  default  to  a  month's  imprisonment  and  a 
fine  of  25  francs  for  breach  of  trust. 

"As  for  Mme.  Panon,  he  gave  her  back  to  her  husband, 
who  was  of  such  a  charitable  nature  that  he  forgave  both  his 
wife  and  her  abductor. 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  99 

"From  one  adventure  Bolo  dashed  on  into  another.  From 
one  infamy  he  slipped  gracefully  into  many  more.  We  next 
hear  of  him  in  a  railroad  derailment  near  Hendaye.  Bolo 
is  picked  up  and  cared  for  at  the  Hotel  de  la  Gare,  conducted 
by  a  Mme.  Cabet  and  her  young  niece,  Michaela  Estouba. 
He  soon  conquered  the  affections  of  the  niece,  promised  mar- 
riage, lived  in  grand  style,  travelled  from  Hendaye  to 
Biarritz  in  a  magnificent  coach  with  gayly  harnessed  horses 
and  costumed  postillions.  After  he  had  fleeced  the  poor 
girl  of  her  dowery,  he  again  disappeared. 

"Then  Bolo  tried  marriage.  For  him  matrimony,  the 
same  as  elopements,  was  a  mere  matter  of  business.  Toward 
the  'end  of  1893  he  met  a  Mile.  Henrietta  Soumaille,  who  was 
singing  in  a  theatre  in  Bordeaux.  He  became  known  to  her 
as  M.  Grangeneuve.  She  sang  for  him,  and  he  confessed  he 
was  completely  captivated.  He  made  immediate  love  to  her, 
and  she  soon  fell  into  his  arms.  He  told  her  that  he  had 
just  lost  his  mother,  and  that  his  share  of  the  inheritance 
amounted  to  700  francs  a  month. 

"Mile.  Soumaille  sailed  for  the  Argentine  with  the  hope  of 
securing  a  theatrical  engagement  there,  and  her  lover,  whom 
she  was  already  supporting,  accompanied  her.  She  obtained 
an  engagement  in  the  Casino  at  Buenos  Ayres,  and  received 
20  piastres  for  each  performance.  But  it  was  Bolo,  who 
went  to  the  cashier  every  evening  and  got  the  money.  He 
had  no  other  business.  On  April  14,  1894,  he  finally  married 
Mile.  Soumaille  in  one  of  the  mayoralities  of  Buenos  Ayres, 
and  signed  the  marriage  contract,  'Bolo  de  Grangeneuve.' 

"Finally,  he  revealed  himself  in  his  true  character,  for  he 
could  be  by  turns  suave,  courteous,  entertaining  or  insolent, 
brow  beating,  brutal.  One  day  he  thrashed  his  wife,  because 
she  refused  to  give  him  her  signature  and  permit  him  to  col- 
lect 5,000  francs.  Twice  he  played  burglar  and  broke  into 
his  own  apartments.  The  first  time  in  Buenos  Ayres  he  ap- 
propriated not  a  little  of  his  wife's  jewelry  and  a  consider- 


100  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

able  sum  of  money.  The  second  time  in  Valparaiso  he  got 
away  with  a  diamond  buckle. 

"Bolo  was  arrested,  and  his  wife,  in  order  to  secure  his 
release,  was  obliged  to  deposit  all  her  possessions  as  a  guar- 
antee of  his  appearance  in  court.  Once  out  on  bail,  Bolo 
wanted  nothing  better.  He  deserted  his  wife,  and  went 
direct  to  Albi,  the  home  of  her  family.  He  told  her  relatives 
that  he  had  just  acquired  in  America  a  vast  concession  of 
land,  where  he  planned  to  found  a  colony.  He  appointed  his 
two  brothers-in-law  to  choice  positions  in  the  new  Arcadia, 
which  he  had  named  Port  Tarasson,  and  he  charged  his 
mother-in-law  with  the  pleasant  task  of  recruiting  emigrants. 
He  gave  her  a  great  register,  in  which  to  write  their  names. 
For  two  days  the  crowds  came.  There  was  a  never-ending 
line  of  people.  Believing  finally  that  the  mystification  had 
lasted  long  enough,  Bolo  again  disappeared. 

"Here  there  is  a  gap  in  his  life. 

"The  next  heard  of  him  was  in  Lyons,  in  1902,  when  he 
re-appeared  as  a  representative  of  Binet  champagne  and 
Cusenier  oxygenated  absinthe.  He  organized  a  company  to 
represent  various  commercial  houses,  a  venture  which  cost 
his  partner,  M.  de  Civins,  something  like  250,000  francs. 

"And  now  Bolo  again  turned  to  marriage,  and  this  time 
he  found  it  a  real  road  to  fortune.  It  seems  that  he  had 
meb  a  Mme.  Muller,  a  young  and  pretty  widow  of  Bordeaux, 
who  had  inherited  several  million  francs.  Again  he  made 
love  and  with  all  his  old  time  success.  They  were  married 
on  May  15,  1915. 

"With  Mme.  Muller  Bolo,  our  soldier  of  fortune  returned 
to  Paris  a  rich  man.  He  leased  a  luxurious  apartment  at 
No.  5  Rue  Denis-Poisson  (near  the  great  Avenue  de  la 
Grande  Armee,  at  one  end  of  which  towers  the  Arc  de 
Triomphe  and  at  the  other  stretch  the  beautiful  lawns  and 
driveways  of  the  Bois  de  Boulogne). 

"The  Bolos  immediately  displayed  their  riches,  where  they 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  101 

could  attract  the  most  attention.  The  wife  possessed  not 
only  a  capital  of  2,500,000  francs,  but  also  1,825  shares  of 
Richard  and  Muller,  worth  about  547,000  francs,  and  an 
independent  yearly  income  of  about  47,000  francs. 

"By  this  marriage  Bolo  became  a  bigamist,  but  for  the 
time  being  no  one  but  himself  knew  it.  In  Paris  Bolo  insti- 
tuted an  active  campaign  to  make  friends  whom  he  might 
use.  That  he  might  entertain  on  a  grander  scale  he  moved 
to  a  more  magnificent  home  in  the  Rue  de  Phalsbourg  and 
established  a  sumptuous  country  place  at  Biarritz.  He  sur- 
rounded himself  with  many  personages  of  high  social  stand- 
ing, who  should  have  guarded  themselves  against  his  false 
pretenses. 

"At  the  same  time  he  became  engaged  in  all  sorts  of  busi- 
ness ventures.  He  had  full  control  of  his  wife's  riches,  for 
she  had  given  him  a  power  of  attorney.  He  was  to  be  seen 
everywhere,  Venezuela,  Colombia,  Cuba,  Champagne,  Switz- 
erland, Spain.  He  was  busy  creating  State  banks  in  the 
South  American  republics.  He  started  an  'emerald  trust.' 
He  promoted  the  affair  of  the  Petits  Bans  de  Presse,  and 
founded  the  'Swiss  White  Cross,'  the  Confederation  Gen- 
erale  Agricole,'  and  what  not.  But  none  of  the  undertakings 
seemed  to  succeed. 

"His  life  resembled  a  circus  parade.  He  was  often  seen 
in  Paris  exhibiting  himself  on  the  box  of  a  magnificent  mail 
coach  with  a  riding  master  and  a  footman  blowing  a  trumpet. 
In  Colombia  he  wore  breeches  of  lion  skin. 

"Bolo  now  took  the  step  which  lead  to  his  downfall.  In 
the  company  of  Mme.  Marie  Lafargue,  an  artist  of  the 
Opera,  who  was  singing  in  Cairo,  he  had  met  Youssouf  Sad- 
dik,  ministre  de  la  plume,  or  secretary  of  Abbas  Hilmi^ 
ex-Khedive  of  Egypt.  The  secretary  introduced  Bolo  as 
soon  as  possible  to  his  master,  and  on  that  sarnie  day,  July 
5,  1914,  the  ex-Khedive  made  Bolo  his  financial  agent  and 
sole  representative  in  Europe. 


102  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"Events  were  now  moving  fast.  On  July  25,  1914,  Abbas 
Hilmi  charged  Bolo  with  the  negotiations  for  the  renewal  of 
the  Suez  Canal  concession,  and  some  days  later  made  him  a 
Pacha. 

"Abbas  Hilmi  had  been  dethroned  and  expelled  by  the 
English,  and  accordingly,  when  the  war  broke  out  in  August 
of  this  same  year,  he  was  all  ready  to  throw  himself  into  the 
arms  of  the  enemies  of  England  and  become  a  German  spy. 

"At  this  time  also,  Bolo  was  anxiously  awaiting  an  oppor- 
tunity to  mend  his  wasting  fortunes.  Hilmi  and  Bolo  seized 
the  same  straw. 

"After  the  First  Battle  of  the  Marne,  seeing  the  complete 
collapse  of  her  plan  of  a  sudden  attack,  Germany  desired  to 
effect  a  re-approachment  with  France,  in  order  to  be  able  to 
turn  her  whole  attention  against  England  and  defeat  her  the 
more  easily. 

"But  it  was  first  necessary  to  prepare  pubic  opinion  for 
a  separate  peace.  It  has  been  proved  by  court  documents, 
that  in  order  to  accomplish  this  end,  the  enemy  was  prepared 
to  make  heavy  financial  sacrifices.  Our  foes  wanted  to  in- 
fluence the  Parliament  and  the  Press  simultaneously.  They 
had  at  first  estimated  that  a  certain  amount  of  pessimistic 
news  cleverly  disseminated  by  agents  who  enjoyed  good 
standing  in  parliamentary  circles  would  be  sufficient  to  cre; 
ate  confusion  and  destroy  harmony  between  the  Allies. 

"In  the  Press  it  was  necessary  to  create  desire  among  the 
people  for  peace.  But  this  was  difficult,  because,  if  news- 
papers which  were  known  to  be  pro-German  presented  this 
propaganda,  its  purpose  would  be  suspected.  Accordingly, 
it  was  necessary  to  veil  this  propaganda  in  newspapers  that 
were  neutral  or  even  apparently  pro-French. 

"Better  even  than  that,  Germany  thought,  would  be  the 
purchase  of  newspapers  of  unsuspected  patriotism,  which, 
in  order  to  avoid  awakening  suspicion,  should  for  a  while 
continue  campaigns  favorable  to  the  Allies.  These  news- 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  103 

papers  should  not  swing  to  the  German  side  until  the  psycho- 
logical time  arrived. 

"From  every  point  of  view  Bolo  was  thought  to  be  the 
man  for  the  job.  Without  ever  having  indulged  in  politics, 
he  had  been  clever  enough  to  create  for  himself  among  par- 
liamentary and  administrative  circles,  some  very  important 
connections,  which,  in  case  of  necessity,  he  would  not  be 
afraid  to  utilize.  In  all  instances  he  had  displayed  irrefu- 
table patriotism.  He  had  been  most  generous  in  his  dona- 
tions and  his  professions  of  loyalty.  Apparently,  he  was 
rich,  and  the  source  of  his  wealth  could  be  explained  both  by 
an  advantageous  marriage  and  the  apparent  success  of  his 
many  ventures.  Therefore,  it  would  surprise  nobody,  if  he 
were  to  invest  large  sums  of  money  in  newspapers,  and  secure 
control. 

"In  a  word,  everything  tended  to  draw  him  to  Germany 
and  afterward  to  render  the  proof  of  his  treason  difficult. 
His  apparent  wealth,  his  hidden  ruin,  his  total  unscrupulous- 
ness,  his  adventurous  life,  his  love  for  excessive  luxury  and 
his  extreme  caution  born  from  old-time  necessity,  all  con- 
tributed to  his  success,  as  a  traitor. 

"As  soon  as  the  Khedive  and  Bolo  understood  each  other 
the  negotiations  began. 

'^During  his  sojourn  at  Vienna  Abbas  Hilmi  had  numerous 
interviews  with  von  Tchirsky,  the  German  ambassador,  con- 
cerning the  plan  of  a  separate  peace.  Abbas  Hilmi  was  now 
wholly  devoted  to  the  enemies  of  France.  In  talking  with 
Viora  Nourredin  in  November,  1915,  he  said: 

"  *I  have  sacrificed  myself  completely  to  the  German  cause. 
I  have  joined  the  Turks  and  the  Teutons  against  England.' 

"During  the  stay  of  the  Khedive  at  Vienna  and  later  in 
Switzerland,  from  December,  1914,  to  October,  1915,  Bolo 
made  three  trips  to  Italy  and  visited  Switzerland  six  differ- 
ent times.  On  each  one  of  these  journeys  he  met  the  Khe- 
dive or  his  representatives. 


104  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"On  the  first  trip,  December  26,  1914,  Bolo  met  Saddik, 
the  Khedive's  secretary.  They  discussed  a  plan  of  establish- 
ing a  great  Catholic  bank  at  Fribourg,  which  they  might 
utilize  for  the  pacifist  propaganda  in  France.  Because  of 
its  religious  cloak  the  bank  would  not  be  as,easily  suspected, 
Bolo  thought,  and  in  its  vaults  could  be  deposited  the  Ger- 
man money,  which  would  be  paid  out  as  French  money  to  the 
French  press.  On  the  surface,  it  would  appear  to  be  purely 
a  religious  movement.  The  cry  of  peace  was  to  be  raised  only 
for  the  sake  of  preserving  Christianity  and  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church.  Bolo  also  told  Saddik,  that  if  his  master  could 
_raise  50  millions  from  Germany,  he,  Bolo,  would  do  the  rest." 

On  an  earlier  journey  into  Italy,  Bolo  had  presented  his 
bank  scheme  to  a  former  Italian  deputy  by  the  name  of 
Cavallini,  who  had  become  a  German  agent,  and  who  was 
later  arrested  and  charged  with  treason.  But  Cavallini  could 
not  help. 

Cavallini,  like  Bolo,  was  strictly  a  soldier  of  adventure. 
He  had  made  a  fortune  out  of  municipal  speculations,  but 
he  soon  squandered  all  his  money,  and  began  looking  for 
other  opportunities  to  regain  his  lost  wealth.  He  had  been 
condemned  by  various  courts  for  various  crimes,  one  of  them 
being  corruption  and  complicity  in  fraudulent  bankruptcy. 

Finally,  Bolo's  plan  of  a  bank  of  treason  was  submitted 
to  Abbas  Hilmi  in  Vienna.  As  the  Khedive,  a  Mohammedan, 
was  to  be  the  head  of  this  pseudo  Catholic  institution,  the 
trap  was  evidently  thought  to  be  too  crude.  At  all  events 
it  was  abandoned. 

Bolo  learned  this  sad  news  on  a  third  trip  to  Geneva  on 
February  14,  1915.  Without  loss  of  time,  he  next  volun- 
teered to  buy  a  great  number  of  French  newspapers  for  Ger- 
many. 

"After  further  negotiations  with  Germany,  Bolo  prepared 
to  carry  out  his  great  scheme  of  treason,"  continued  Captain 
Bouchardon.  "During  January  and  February,  1915,  he 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  105 

entered  into  negotiations  with  M.  du  Mesnil,  director  of 
'Rappel'  by  which  Bolo  became  the  holder  of  1500  shares  for 
150,000  francs.  The  paper  had  suspended  publication,  but 
with  the  help  of  Bolo's  money,  it  was  enabled  to  re-appear  on 
April  17,  1915. 

"Similar  propositions  were  made  to  M.  Chavenon,  director 
of  I 'Information;  to  M.  Sylvain,  vice-president  of  the  board 
of  administration  of  Le  Figaro,  for  500  shares,  and  to  the 
Temps  (to  obtain  a  list  of  the  shareholders). 

"These  developments  were  communicated  to  Berlin  for 
approval.  Bolo  submitted  a  report  to  the  ex-Khedive,  who 
spoke  to  Count  Monts,  former  German  ambassador  at  Rome. 
Count  Monts  passed  the  report  along  to  von  Jagow,  Ger- 
man Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  in  Berlin. 

"Meantime,  Saddik,  the  ex-Khedive's  secretary  and  mes- 
senger, was  dispatched  to  Berlin  to  confer  with  von  Jagow, 
and  give  any  further  information,  which  the  Foreign  Min- 
ister might  desire.  Von  Jagow  studied  Bolo's  plan  of  oper- 
ation and  was  delighted.  He  said  that  he  would  at  once  ad- 
vance 10,000,000  marks  at  the  rate  of  1,000,000  marks  each 
month. 

"Evidently  referring  to  Bolo  the  German  Foreign  Minis- 
ter made  this  cryptic  remark  to  Saddik: 

"  'As  for  the  intermediary,  we  have  information  about 
him.  You  do  not  wish  to  give  his  name.  I  do  not  ask  you.' 

"Things  were  now  moving  still  more  rapidly.  Saddik 
brought  back  the  glad  tidings  to  his  co-conspirators.  He 
first  reported  to  his  master,  ex-Khedive  Abbas  Hilmi,  who 
wired  Cavallini  to  tell  Bolo  and  make  an  appointment  with 
him  at  Zurich. 

"Bolo  responded  instantly.  Through  an  intermediary  by 
the  name  of  Porchere  (who  later  becomes  quite  an  important 
factor  in  the  plot)  he  had  this  message  wired  to  Cavallini: 

"  'Richard   (meaning  Bolo)   will  arrive  Tuesday.' 

"Exactly  on  time  Bolo  arrived  at  the  rendezvous  in  Zurich. 


106  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Abbas  Hilmi  and  Saddik  were  there  waiting  for  him.  Caval- 
lini  was  also  present.  When  Bolo  heard  of  von  Jagow's 
plan  of  installment  payments,  he  flew  into  a  rage. 

"  'One  million  marks  a  month !'  he  cried.  'Are  we  only 
beggars?  We  must  have  at  least  two  million  a  month.' 

"The  conferees  finally  decided  to  submit  a  request  of 
2,000,000  marks  a  month,  for  the  first  two  months,  with 
1,000,000  monthly  thereafter.  Saddik  hurried  back  to  Ber- 
lin and  von  Jagow,  who  at  onoe  accepted  it." 

From  documents  seized  by  French  authorities  long  after- 
ward under  circumstances  which  they  would  not  disclose,  it 
was  learned  that  the  Khedive  received  from  Germany  on 
March  26,  1915,  2,207,565  francs,  Swiss  currency,  or  about 
two  million  German  marks,  and  that  part  of  this  money  was 
remitted  to  Bolo. 

And  these  are  the  papers  which  proved  Bolo's  treason: 

"First  document,  a  communication  dated  October  8,  1917, 
by  which  the  German  Under  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Mili- 
tary Court  sent  to  the  Council  of  War  a  telegram  from  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  which  read: 

"  'On  March  20,  1915,  the  Dresner  Bank  (Berlin  branch) 
has  issued  to  the  order  of  Abbas  Hilmi  three  checks  of 
735,855  francs,  20,  each,  Swiss  money  on  a  bank  having  one 
of  its  branches  at  Zurich.' 

"The  first  one  of  the  three  checks  was  paid  in  cash  to  the 
Khedive,  the  others  were  converted  into  one  check  on  Turin 
and  made  payable  to  Filippo  Cavallini  for  1,557,323  lire,  15. 

"Second  document,  a  check,  dated  March  27,  1915,  for 
1,557,323  lire,  15,  issued  by  the  same  Zurich  bank  upon  the 
Banco,  Commerciale  of  Turin,  to  the  order  of  Filippo  Caval- 
lini. 

"Third  document,  a  letter  under  date  of  September  29, 
1917,  by  which  the  Italian  Military  Mission  at  the  Ministry 
of  War  at  Paris,  revealed  how  Filippo  Cavallini  cashed  this 
check. 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  107 

"Fourth  document,  a  check  dated  March  29,  1915,  for 
1,000,000  francs,  issued  by  the  Ramella  bank  on  the  Credit 
Lyonnais  in  Paris  to  the  order  of  Filippo  Cavallini,  and  paid 
to  Cavallini  on  April  1,  1915. 

"Fifth  document,  the  register  of  the  Grand  Hotel  in 
Paris  which  shows  that  Cavallini  was  in  Paris  on  April  1, 
1915." 

The  final  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence,  which  bound  von 
Jagow  and  Bolo  together,  was  furnished  the  French  govern- 
ment's investigators  by  M.  Sottolana,  an  Italian  baritone, 
and  at  one  time  a  friend  of  Cavallini.  After  he  learned 
that  Cavallini  was  trying  to  use  him  to  cloak  a  treason  plot, 
Sottolana  cast  Cavallini  aside,  and  told  the  whole  story  to 
Captain  Bouchardon. 

Through  Sottolana  we  also  get  our  first  glimpse  of  the 
ominous  figure  of  Caillaux  behind  Bolo,  a  figure  whose 
shadow  grows  blacker  and  blacker,  as  the  Bolo  ramification 
of  the  Great  Conspiracy  is  further  unfolded. 

Sottolana's  sworn  statement  follows: 

"On  the  1st  of  April,  1915,  Cavallini  asked  me  to  do  him 
a  favor.  He  said  he  was  about  to  receive  one  million  francs 
and  he  would  like  me  to  accompany  him,  because  it  was  such 
a  large  sum.  We  left  the  Grand  Hotel,  where  he  had  asked 
me  to  meet  him.  He  purchased  a  yellow  stiff  leather  valise; 
hailed  a  taxi  and  ordered  the  chauffeur  to  drive  us  to  the 
Credit  Lyonnais. 

"When  he  presented  the  one  million  franc  check,  the  pay- 
ing teller  said: 

"  'What !    Is  this  an  April  fool?' 

"Cavallini  replied :  'No,  it  is  not  an  April  fool,  but  a  real 
check  for  a  million.'  Then  the  teller  asked  if  Cavallini 
wanted  to  make  a  transfer.  The  latter  replied  he  wanted  the 
cash. 

"After  having  waited  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  he  re- 


108  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

ceived  the  money.  I  could  see  that  it  was  a  lot  of  money, 
but  I  could  not  count  it  to  know  how  much  it  was. 

"He  took  the  valise  to  No.  17  Rue  de  Phalsbourg,  Bolo's 
home.  I  waited  in  the  taxi  at  the  door.  They  came  down 
together.  Bolo  left  us.  Cavallini  then  showed  me  the  empty 
valise." 

Cavallini  and  Bolo  tried  to  employ  Sottolana  in  their 
mysterious  and  suspicious  correspondence.  They  wanted 
him  to  sign  code  telegrams,  or  carry  letters  to  various  mys- 
terious addresses,  but  Sottolana  declared  that  he  would  not 
render  services  of  that  character. 

During  this  testimony  he  was  asked : 

"Did  you  not  carry  a  letter  to  a  lady?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Who  was  she.?" 

"Mme.  Caillaux." 

Captain  Bouchardon's  report  continues  the  story  of  Bolo 
as  follows: 

"Bolo  was  now  well  launched  in  his  career  of  treason.  He 
redoubled  his  activities  in  Paris,  when  suddenly  he  received 
word  from  the  Khedive  to  come  immediately  to  Zurich.  He 
as  promptly  obeyed.  His  passport  shows  that  he  started  on 
April  11,  1915,  and  went  by  way  of  Mondane.  He  had 
previously  announced  his  coming  in  two  telegrams  to  Caval- 
lini on  April  8  and  April  11.  He  wired  that  he  was  bring- 
ing 'Marie  her  bracelets,'  and  that  it  was  necessary  for 
Cavallini  to  advise  'the  Doctor  and  Marie.'  These  mysteri- 
ous terms  meant  Saddik  and  the  Khedive. 

"From  the  Khedive  Bolo  learned  that  the  German  officials 
who  were  watching  him  in  Paris  were  not  altogether  pleased 
with  the  progress  he  was  making.  They  did  not  see  any 
results.  Bolo  proffered  many  excuses.  He  explained  that 
it  was  by  no  means  an  easy  task  to  obtain  pacifist  newspaper 
publicity  in  France  in  a  few  weeks. 

"The  time  had  now  arrived  for  the  payment  of  the  second 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  109 

installment  of  2,000,000  marks.     They  were  due  at  the  end 
of  April. 

"Before  leaving  the  Khedive  Bolo  asked  him  to  remit,  not 
to  Cavallini,  but  a  man  by  the  name  of  Necker,  director  of 
the  Credit  Suisse  at  Geneva,  these  2,000,000  marks. 

"And  this  was  how  the  German  gold  was  paid.  It  was  re- 
mitted to  the  Khedive  on  April  30  in  three  checks.  A  sum 
amounting  to  50,000  francs  was  given  at  once  to  Saddik.  In 
the  bank  of  the  Canton  of  Vaud,  Switzerland,  250,000  francs 
were  deposited  in  the  name  of  Saddik  for  the  purchase  of 
shares  in  Le  Figaro. 

"Another  slice  of  74,000  francs  was  sent  to  Cavallini  by 
transfer  to  the  Swiss  and  French  bank  at  Paris,  on  July 
23,  1915. 

"Still  another  portion  of  50,000  francs  was  distributed 
among  Italian  masonic  lodges. 

"Later,  because  of  complications  which  will  be  explained 
later,  723,000  francs  were  returned  by  the  Khedive  to  von 
Jagow. 

"It  appears  that  at  this  time  Bolo  received  none  of  these 
two  millions,  and  greatly  displeased  with  his  treatment  on 
May  2,  1915,  he  addressed  this  telegram  to  Cavallini: 

"'Inform  Verdi  (the  Khedive)  absolutely  necessary  I  see 
him  this  week,  or  shall  cancel  arrangement.' 

"Bolo  saw  the  Khedive  in  Zurich  on  May  14,  1915,  and  in- 
sisted that  he  be  given  more  time  to  make  pacifist  connec- 
tions with  the  French  journals. 

"If  we  may  believe  the  story  of  Leonard,  a  confidential 
servant  of  the  Khedive,  Bolo  finally  received  from  the  hands 
of  Abbas  Hilmi  a  very  large  sum  of  money,  which  the  ex- 
ruler  of  Egypt  had  counted  out  that  very  same  morning  in 
his  bedroom  in  the  presence  of  Mile.  Lusange.  The  sum 
was  made  up  of  bank  notes,  mostly  French,  and  they  came 
for  the  most  part  from  the  Banca  di  Roma  of  Italy. 

"Immediately  following  this  conference  with  Bolo  the  Khe- 


110  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

dive  had  a  falling  out  with  the  German  government.  After 
leaving  Bolo  at  Zurich  Abbas  Hilmi  returned  to  Vienna, 
where  he  received  a  severe  reprimand  from  von  Tchirsky. 
The  second  payment  had  also  been  productive  of  no  results, 
said  Tchirsky,  no  French  papers  bought,  no  press  campaign 
instituted,  nothing.  Abbas  Hilmi  was  so  overwhelmed  with 
mortification,  that  he  took  refuge  in  Switzerland.  Saddik 
deserted  him,  and  Mohammed  Yagghen  Pacha  succeeded  Sad- 
dik, as  Ministre  de  la  Plume." 

Caillaux  now  entered  the  Bolo  drama  again. 

"On  July  3,  1915,  Bolo  left  Paris  for  Rome,"  said  Cap- 
tain Bouchardon,  "and  on  August  5  Bolo  and  his  wife  are 
to  be  found  at  the  Hotel  Beaurivage,  at  Ouchy,  where  they 
remained  until  September  30,  1915. 

"During  this  sojourn,  Bolo  received  the  visits  of  Mme. 
Caillaux,  who  was  stopping  at  the  same  hotel." 


CHAPTER  IX 

BOLD  FINDS  GERMAN  GOLD  IN  AMERICA 

Sees  Pavenstedt  in  New  York — Pavenstedt  Sees  von  Bern- 
storff  in  Washington — Bernstorff  Wires  von  Jagow  m 
Berlin — von  Jagow  Wires  Consent  for  10,000,000  Marks — 
German  Banks  with  French  Windows — Bolo  and  Humbert 
Visit  King  Alfonso 

Bolo  now  decided  to  go  direct  to  the  fountain-head  of 
German  corruption.  The  down-fall  of  the  Khedive  presented 
this  opportunity.  Through  Abbas  Hilmi  and  Saddik  he  had 
treated  with  Germany  second  hand.  Various  intermediaries 
had  eaten  up  most  of  the  profits.  Indeed,  Bolo  had  received 
little  if  any  of  the  second  German  millions. 

The  situation  was  peculiarly  delicate.  As  the  associate  of 
the  Khedive  he  had  fallen  into  disrepute  both  at  Vienna  and 
Berlin.  When  Abbas  Hilmi  had  been  ordered  to  give  an 
accounting  of  the  4,000,000  marks  from  von  Jagow,  the 
former  Egyptian  chieftain  was  unable  to  show  results.  The 
acquisition  of  a  few  shares  of  the  mordibund  Rappel  and  an 
attempt  to  buy  some  of  the  stock  of  the  Figaro  were  indeed 
very  little  for  4,000,000  marks  So  enraged  had  the  German 
paymasters  become,  that  before  he  was  thrown  out  of  Austria 
Abbas  Hilmi  was  obliged  to  pay  back  723,000  francs  to  von 
Jagow. 

Nevertheless,  Bolo  undertook  to  assume  full  charge  of 
another  pacifist  newspaper  subsidization  scheme  in  France 
and  reap  a  full  harvest  of  German  gold.  He  began  cau- 
tiously. With  150,000  francs  he  bought  some  shares  in  the 

111 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Society  of  Professional  and  Political  Newspapers.  In  lias- 
way  he  sought  to  come  into  closer  contact  with  the  news- 
paper proprietors  and  editors,  whom  he  wished  to  exploit. 
He  also  negotiated  for  stock  in  La  Revue  and  Le  Cri  de  Paris. 

For  a  long  time  von  Jagow  had  plotted  to  get  control  of 
Le  Journal,  in  which  Senator  Humbert  had  been  waging  a 
most  vigorous  campaign  for  "More  Cannons,  More  Muni- 
tions," and  urging  every  other  possible  means  to  defeat  the 
Huns.  If  he  could  buy  such  a  paper  and  at  the  opportune 
time  throw  its  support  to  the  German  cause,  von  Jagow 
knew  that  he  would  be  able  to  sway  French  opinion  vastly 
more  than  with  an  avowedly  pacifist  paper,  like  the  Bonnet 
Rouge.  Bolo  understood  all  this  and  believed  Germany 
would  give  him  great  credit  if  he  could  get  into  close  con- 
tact with  such  a  prominent  personality  as  Senator  Charles 
Humbert,  who  was  not  only  the  director  of  Le  Journal  but 
also  vice-president  of  the  Army  Commission  of  which  Clem- 
enceau  was  chairman. 

With  Humbert  in  Le  Journal  was  associated  Pierre  Lenoir, 
who  was  supposed  to  have  acquired  a  great  fortune  from  his 
father,  a  well-known  advertising  contractor.  Lenoir's  wealth 
was  finally  traced  to  a  German  agent  in  Switzerland,  named 
Schoeller.  Humbert  and  Lenoir  had  quarrelled,  and  Hum- 
bert wanted  to  oust  his  rival.  There  was  also  a  third  part- 
ner, Guillaume  Desouches,  from  whose  presence  Humbert 
also  wanted  to  be  free. 

Lenoir's  German  gold  furthermore  had  not  appeared  to 
have  had  any  effect  on  the  policy  of  Le  Journal,  for  the  news- 
paper contii.ued  its  old-time  campaign  for  greater  military 
armaments  and  a  more  forceful  prosecution  of  the  war. 
Bolo  learned  the  details  of  the  internal  snarls  of  Le  Journal, 
and  began  laying  plans  accordingly. 

Humbert  like  Bolo  had  sprung  from  the  soil  of  the  prov- 
inces. Born  in  Lorraine  four  years  before  the  Germans 
defeated  France  in  1871  he  knew  as  a  child  the  meaning  of 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  113 

German  Kultur.     His  parents  were  so  poor,  that  many  a 
night  of  his  boyhood  he  went  to  bed  supperless.     The  Hum- 
berts at  last  found  German  rule  so  intolerable,  that  they 
sought  a  kindlier  province  in  what  still  remained  of  France. 
Forced  to  earn  his  own  living,  while  still  a  lad,  Charles 
Humbert  shifted   from   one  menial   employment   to   another 
until  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  was  working  16  hours  a  day, 
as  a  dishwasher  in  the  cafe  of  a  little  provincial  town.     Had 
it  not  been  for  the  compulsory  army  service  of  France,  he 
might  have  remained  in  much  the  same  stratum  of  French 
society;  but  army  life  has  some  opportunities,  and,  when  at 
nineteen  he  wrung  out  his  dish  towels  for  the  last  time  and 
marched  away  in  a  soldier's  uniform,  he  took  a  long  stride 
upward.     For  this  humble  but  intensely  ambitious  youth  the 
army  proved  to  be  indeed  the  road  to  fame  and  fortune. 

After  two  years  as  a  private,  Humbert  obtained  admit- 
tance to  the  officers'  school  at  St.  Maixent,  where  he  rose  to 
a  junior  lieutenancy.  Later  he  became  connected  with  the 
Quartermaster  and  Commissary  Departments,  and  because  of 
the  notice  of  his  superiors,  he  moved  on  upward  in  more  in- 
fluencial  positions,  until  he  became  the  aide-de-camp  of  Gen- 
eral Andre.  When  General  Andre  was  made  Minister  of 
War,  he  called  his  protege  to  Paris  and  gave  him  an  im- 
portant departmental  position. 

As  soon  as  Humbert  became  interested  in  the  political  life 
of  France,  centering,  as  it  does,  in  Paris,  revolving  around  a 
few  powerful  men  within  the  shadow  of  the  Elysee  Palace, 
he  began  keeping  notes.  Whenever  he  heard  a  story,  either 
good  or  bad,  of  a  politician,  a  financier,  or  a  newspaper 
proprietor  or  editor,  he  filed  the  story  away  in  envelopes, 
which  the  French  call  dossiers.  He  seemed  to  have  a  mania 
for  learning  the  inmost  details  of  the  private  lives  of  public 
men.  So  assiduous  was  he  in  gathering  biographical  skele- 
tons, that  his  collection  came  to  be  a  constant  menace  for 
many  a  powerful  French  statesman. 


114,  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

In  France  a  great  number  of  political  leaders  have  risen 
to  power  and  wealth  from  the  editorial  rooms  of  newspapers. 
Clemenceau  is  the  most  striking  example.  Along  this  route 
Humbert  also  planned  to  rise.  Through  Philippe  Bunau- 
Varilla,  owner  of  Le  Matin,  Humbert  obtained  a  position  on 
that  paper,  and  although  he  had  never  had  any  newspaper 
training  he  immediately  evidenced  the  possession  of  other 
qualities,  which  more  than  offset  this  lack  of  experience. 
Tremendously  aggressive,  dramatically  imaginative,  he  con- 
ceived a  series  of  crusades  to  compel  attention,  excite  the 
multitude,  and  increase  circulation.  He  followed  much  the 
same  lines  as  some  of  our  most  successful  American  news- 
paper publishers,  or,  in  England,  Lord  Northcliffe. 

Accordingly,  Humbert  began  exposing  various  public 
abuses,  with  now  and  then  a  trenchant  attack  against  some 
politician  or  financier  whom  he  depicted  as  an  enemy  of  the 
people.  He  even  went  outside  of  France  on  his  man-hunting 
expeditions.  In  one  assault,  directed  at  King  Leopold,  he 
accused  the  Belgian  monarch  of  being  the  chief  perpetrator 
of  the  Congo  horrors.  In  these  fights  Humbert's  dossiers 
became  a  most  potent  and  terrible  weapon. 

For  fifteen  years  before  the  war  Humbert  had  been  urging 
national  preparedness.  His  constant  cry  was  for  a  stronger 
and  greater  army  and  navy.  He  continually  pointed  to  the 
tremendous  preparations  of  Germany.  He  warned  the 
French  of  defeat,  unless  they  awoke  to  their  peril.  Such 
then  was  the  director  of  Le  Journal,  which  Bolo  plotted  to 
buy  for  the  enemy. 

After  some  negotiations  Humbert  agreed  to  take  Bolo's 
money.  Humbert  explained  later  that  he  never  dreamed 
that  it  came  from  Germany.  An  agreement  between  Hum- 
bert and  Bolo  was  signed  January  30,  1916,  and  on  February 
12,  Bolo  sailed  for  New  York  from  Bordeaux.  From  this 
point,  the  report  of  Captain  Bouchardon  picks  up  the  story 
as  follows; 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  115 

"Bolo  was  carrying  his  agreement  for  control  of  Le 
Journal  and  a  letter  from  Humbert  to  J.  P.  Morgan  &  Com- 
pany of  New  York,  stating  that  Bolo  would  deposit  for 
Humbert's  account  1,000,000  francs.  He  also  carried  a 
letter  of  introduction  to  Amsinck  &  Company  of  New  York 
from  the  Perier  Bank  of  Paris. 

"Once  aboard  the  steamship,  Bolo  sent  a  wireless  to  the 
German,  Pavenstedt,  an  Amsinck  partner,  whom  he  had 
already  known  before  the  war.  On  reaching  New  York  Bolo 
showed  Pavenstedt  his  contract  with  Humbert.  He  told 
Pavenstedt  that  he  also  planned  to  buy  other  Paris  news- 
papers. To  carry  out  the  Le  Journal  contract  Bolo  said  he 
must  have  10  million  marks,  for  the  reimbursement  of  which 
he  would  be  willing  to  pledge  the  shares  of  Le  Journal. 

"Pavenstedt  explained  to  Bolo  that  the  proposition  was 
not  a  commercial  affair,  and  that  he  could  hardly  find  any 
business  man  in  New  York,  who  would  be  willing  to  finance 
such  an  enterprise.  'I  will  speak  to  you  frankly,'  said 
Pavenstedt  to  Bolo,  *I  know  of  only  one  man  who,  in  my 
opinion,  might  be  interested,  and  that  is  Count  von  Bern- 
storff,  the  German  Ambassador  to  the  United  States.  Would 
you  object  if  I  spoke  to  him?' 

"Bolo  at  once  agreed,  but  on  the  condition  that  his  own 
name  be  kept  secret.  Accordingly,  Pavenstedt  went  to 
Washington  and  saw  von  Bernstorff,  with  the  result  that  on 
February  26,  1916,  the  German  ambassador  sent  this  cable- 
gram to  von  Jagow,  at  Berlin : 

"  'I  received  direct  information  from  a  source  entirely 
reliable  that  a  notable  political  person  in  one  of  the  enemy 
countries  will  bring  about  peace.  One  of  the  principals  in 
the  matter  in  question  is  seeking  a  loan  of  $1,750,000  in 
New  York,  for  which  security  will  be  furnished. 

"  'I  am  not  at  liberty  to  give  his  name  in  writing.  The 
affair  seems  to  be  of  the  greatest  possible  importance.  Can 
the  money  be  sent  to  New  York  at  once?  It  is  absolutely 


116  THIS  ENEMY  WITHIN 

certain  that  the  intermediary  shall  keep  the  matter  secret. 
Please  reply  by  wire.  A  verbal  report  will  be  made  as  soon 
as  I  can  find  a  person  worthy  of  confidence  to  take  it  to 
Germany.' 

"On  Feb.  29,  Berlin  cabled  Bernstorff: 
"  'Reply  to  your  telegram.     Consent  to  loan,  but  only  if 
pacifist  action  seems  a  really  serious  project,  as  it  is  ex- 
traordinarily difficult  for  us  to  open  a  credit  at  New  York 
at  present.' 

"Bolo,  on  being  informed  of  this  correspondence  by 
Pavenstedt,  prepared  a  contract,  in  which  he  agreed  to  pay 
back  the  loan  two  years  after  the  termination  of  the  war. 
There  were  to  be  no  interest  charges,  and  Bolo  was  to  de- 
posit the  shares  of  Le  Journal  in  a  bank  as  soon  as  paid 
for. 

"At  the  beginning  of  the  war  Germany  had  on  deposit  in 
various  New  York  banks  many  millions  of  dollars.  The 
Deutsche  Bank,  for  example,  had  large  deposits  in  the  Guar- 
anty Trust,  the  Park  National  Bank,  and  a  half  dozen  other 
New  York  financial  institutions.  Hugo  Schmitt  wasthe  New 
York  representative  of  the  Deutsche  Bank.  Bernstorff  de- 
cided it  was  easiest  to  draw  on  some  of  these  deposits,  and 
accordingly  on  March  5,  1916,  he  sent  this  wire  to  von 
Jagow : 

"  'Kindly  give  orders  to  the  Deutsche  Bank  to  hold  10,- 
000,000  marks  at  the  disposal  of  Hugo  Schmitt.  The  affair 
is  full  of  promise.  Other  details  will  follow.' 

"The  necessary  orders  were  given,  as  appears  from  a 
series  of  telegrams  between  Berlin  and  Hugo  Schmitt.  It 
was  arranged  that  the  payment  of  the  money  be  made  in 
installments  and  pass  through  several  intermediaries  in  order 
not  to  arouse  suspicion." 

Just  how  this  vast  sum  was  cut  into  smaller  amounts  and 
transferred  from  one  bank  to  another  by  means  of  cashier's 
checks  and  other  camouflaged  transactions  was  revealed  by 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  117 

Perley  Morse,  a  certified  accountant  of  New  York,  under  the 
direction  of  Attorney  General  Merton  E.  Lewis,  of  the  State 
of  New  York.  The  French  Government  through  Ambas- 
sador Jusserand  at  Washington  had  asked  the  New  York 
State  authorities  to  make  this  investigation.  The  facts  were 
not  brought  to  light  until  more  than  a  year  after  Bolo's 
visit,  for  when  he  was  in  New  York,  living  in  sumptuous  style 
at  the  Hotel  Plaza  and  entertaining  distinguished  guests  at 
Sherry's  and  other  banquet  palaces,  no  one  but  Bernstorff, 
Pavenstedt,  or  other  representatives  of  Germany  knew  he 
was  anything  more  than  a  very  wealthy  Paris  journalist. 
His  letters  from  Senator  Humbert  gave  him  immediate  entree 
to  J.  P.  Morgan  &  Company,  the  fiscal  agents  of  Great 
Britain,  with  whom  he  opened  an  account. 

The  investigations  of  Perley  Morse  among  the  books  of  a 
half  score  New  York  banks  were  made  the  basis  of  the  follow- 
ing telegram  from  Jusserand  to  the  Ministry  of  Foreign 
Affairs  in  Paris.  It  was  presented  to  the  Council  of  War  of 
France  on  Sept.  26,  1917.  It  read  as  follows: 

"Testimony  gathered  and  documents  examined  and  photo- 
graphed by  the  State  of  New  York  demonstrate  that  from 
March  13  to  April  1,  1916,  the  Guaranty  Trust  Company 
and  the  National  Park  Bank  have  paid  out  for  Bolo's  account 
$1,683,000  to  Amsinck  &  Company  of  New  York  conducted 
by  German- Americans.  These  banks  had  received  this  money 
from  the  New  York  agency  of  the  Deutsche  Bank  of  Berlin, 
administered  in  New  York  by  Hugo  Schmitt.  From  Amsinck 
&  Company  the  money  was  transferred  by  its  principal 
partner,  Pavenstedt,  to  the  New  York  branch  of  the  Royal 
Bank  of  Canada.  Bolo  had  been  recommended  to  Pavenstedt 
by  the  Perier  Bank  of  Paris. 

"The  Canadian  bank  in  its  turn  disposed  of  the  money  by 
paying  it  out  upon  orders  of  Bolo,  as  follows: 

•'To  J.  P.  Morgan  &  Company,  for  the  credit  of  Senator 
Charles  Humbert,  $170,068,  or  1,000,000  francs. 


118  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"To  the  Comptoir  d'Escompte  de  Paris,  for  the  credit  of 
Mme.  Bolo,  a  little  more  than  $500,000. 

"For  the  credit  of  M.  Jules  Bois,  (a  French  lecturer,  who 
said  he  was  utterly  deceived  by  Bolo)  $5,000. 

"Leaving  on  deposit  with  J.  P.  Morgan  &  Company, 
$1,000,000." 

And  what  became  of  the  last  $1,000,000? 

The  books  of  J.  P.  Morgan  &  Co.  show  that  it  was  finally 
transferred  to  the  Bank  Perier.  On  returning  to  Paris,  Bolo 
asked  that  this  course  be  followed,  and  in  reply  he  received 
the  following  letter  confirming  a  cable  to  the  same  effect : 

June  10,  1916. 
Rochambeau, 

Paul  Bolo  Pacha, 

Messrs.  Morgan  Harjes  &  Co., 
Paris,  France. 

Dear  Sir:  We  beg  to  advise  that  we  debit  your  account 
today  $1,000,000.  Your  cable  transfer  paid  Agency  Royal 
Bank  Canada,  New  York,  account  Perier  Campagnie. 

Very  truly  yours, 
H.P.Ks.  J.  P.  Morgan  &  Co. 

In  telling  how  Humbert  finally  got  control  of  Le  Journal, 
Captain  Bouchardon's  report  on  Bolo  said: 

"Now  that  the  money  had  been  gathered  together  to  buy 
Le  Journal,  it  only  remained  to  get  Lenoir  out  of  the  way. 
A  law  suit  had  just  began  to  annul  Lenoir's  sale  of  stock  to 
Humbert,  but  thanks  to  the  money  from  the  Deutsche  Bank, 
Humbert  finally  got  rid  of  both  Lenoir  and  Desouches.  The 
1,100  shares  thus  acquired  were  accordingly  bought  and 
paid  for  by  German  gold. 

"Thus  we  see  that  by  the  masterful  stroke  of  a  bold 
adventurer  Germany  was  realizing  her  scheme  of  getting 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  119 

hold  of  one  of  the  greatest  organs  of  the  French  press.  The 
speediness  with  which  von  Bernstorff  and  von  Jagow  ac- 
cepted Bolo's  proposal  and  advanced  10,000,000  marks, 
leaves  no  doubt  that  even  before  sailing  for  America,  Bolo 
was  sure  that  he  would  find  all  the  funds  necessary.  He 
knew  that  Germany  would  furnish  the  money  upon  the 
security  of  the  Humbert  contract.  His  subterfuge  in  seek- 
ing Pavenstedt,  as  an  intermediary,  was  simply  a  precaution 
inspired  by  prudence.  Pavenstedt,  himself,  at  last  admitted 
that  a  cunning  fox  like  Bolo  knew  that  he,  Pavenstedt, 
would  of  necessity  call  upon  the  German  Ambassador  for 
money. 

"Bolo's  plottings  were  the  most  iniquitious  that  can  be 
conceived.  Beginning  in  a  low  and  vile  way  he  suddenly 
found  himself  at  the  very  height  of  treason.  Had  he  not 
chosen  so  many  intermediaries,  had  he  spaced  his  journeys  to 
Switzerland  a  little  further  apart  and  committed  fewer  im- 
prudences of  various  other  kinds,  he  might  have  realized  till 
the  end  the  whole  fruits  of  his  gigantic  scheme.  The  plan 
was  conceived  with  such  perfidy,  that  even  in  spite  of  its 
collapse,  Germany  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  how  tre- 
mendously this  scandal  demoralized  France." 

Spectacular  as  were  the  operations  of  Bolo,  they  neverthe- 
less should  be  regarded  as  only  the  outward  evidences  of 
Germany's  deep  laid  plans  to  control  the  French  press  and 
implant  in  the  French  mind  the  insidious  poison  of  pacifism. 
It  should  be  remembered,  that  before  Bolo  went  to  America 
he  visited  the  Bank  Perier,  and  that  in  an  inner  office  of  this 
apparently  French  institution  he  received  the  letter  of  intro- 
duction to  Pavenstedt,  which  proved  the  open  sesame  to  the 
New  York  millions  of  the  Deutsche  Bank. 

Behind  the  French  names  of  many  banks,  many  industrial 
and  commercial  houses  in  Paris  before  the  war,  there  were 
powerful  financial  interests,  which  led  to  Berlin  and  later 
were  proved  to  be  the  tentacles  of  the  German  military 


120  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

system.  The  Paris  offices  of  these  institutions  had  French 
windows,  but  their  vaults  held  German  gold. 

The  Bank  Perier  was  controlled  by  M.  Bauer.  Founded 
by  the  family  of  Casimir-Perier  118  years  before  it  became 
involved  with  Bolo,  it  was  controlled  entirely  by  French  in- 
terests until  Bauer  entered  its  directorate.  Finally  the  Ger- 
man power  in  the  institution  became  so  dominant,  that 
Edmond  Perier,  the  last  of  the  family  of  its  founders,  got 
out.  In  a  sworn  statement,  M.  Perier  has  told  the  story  as 
follows : 

"Bolo  was  not  alone  in  this  affair.  He  could  not  have  been 
the  sole  author  of  such  an  enormous  machination.  It  is 
necessary  first  of  all  to  understand  the  mentality  of  our 
enemies.  They  are  far  sighted,  practical,  perfidious.  They 
started  this  undertaking  long,  long  ago.  It  existed  before 
the  Agadir  scandal. 

"Treason  requires  the  movement  of  enormous  sums. 
Checks,  which  represent  fortunes,  cannot  be  paid  in  money 
orders,  as  one  may  do  in  paying  a  housekeeper  her  wages. 
Therefore,  how  can  an  instrument  be  found  for  this  kind  of 
work?  What  sort  of  a  financial  institution  can  be  utilized? 

"It  cannot  be  a  credit  house,  because  a  credit  house  has 
too  large  a  personnel.  Indiscretions  are  to  be  feared.  But 
with  a  private  bank  the  task  is  a  great  deal  easier.  In  a 
private  bank  there  is  one  director.  This  fact  the  Germans 
of  course  understood.  The  Germans  have  always  been  careful 
in  concentrating  power  in  the  hands  of  one  man.  It  is 
unfortunately  true,  that  by  applying  this  principle  every- 
where they  have  accomplished  great  things  for  good  as  well 
as  evil. 

"Not  only  was  the  Bank  Perier  mixed  up  with  the  opera- 
tions of  Bolo.  There  are  other  ramifications.  In  Brazil 
the  bank  at  this  moment  has  a  German  representative  whose 
name  is  Albert  Landsberg.  In  view  of  such  facts,  I  think 
I  have  the  right  to  say  that  this  bank  is  using  my  name 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  121 

wrongly,  a  name  which  has  been  an  honorable  one  for  more 
than  a  century,  but  which  has  ceased  to  be  such  any  more." 

(M.  Perier  sought  an  injunction  to  prevent  the  bank  from 
using  his  name,  but  failed.  He  took  this  action,  however, 
long  before  its  relations  with  Bolo  were  exposed.) 

"The  German  power,  the  German  connections  of  this  bank 
must  be  constantly  borne  in  mind  to  understand  that  Bolo 
was  by  no  means  the  chief  factor  in  the  effort  to  poison  the 
French  press  with  German  peace  propaganda. 

"Who  gave  Bolo  the  letter  of  introduction  to  Pavenstedt, 
which  resulted  in  Bernstorif's  furnishing  the  German  mil- 
lions ? 

"M.  Bauer. 

"Who  was  present  at  the  introduction  of  Bolo  to  M. 
Humbert  ? 

"M.  Bauer. 

"Who  entered  the  Bank  Perier  not  only  to  do  a  banking 
business,  but  also  to  play  politics? 

"M.  Bauer. 

"Why  is  it  that  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Rio  Janeiro 
denounced  the  presence  in  that  city  of  Landsberg,  the  Ger- 
man representative  of  the  Bank  Perier  in  Brazil? 

"Why  is  it  that  M.  Arthur  Tiret,  a  former  student  of  the 
I2cole  Polytechnique,  a  savant  of  great  merit,  should  have 
written  again  and  again  to  the  authorities  concerning  this 
situation  without  having  received  a  single  reply? 

"How  is  it  that  the  authorities  close  their  eyes? 

"I  know  that  other  complaints  have  also  been  made  con- 
cerning M.  Bauer,  and  that  special  attention  has  been  called 
to  his  frequent  trips  to  Spain." 

At  this  point  M.  Perier  became  more  explicit.  Over  the 
heads  of  Bauer  and  Bolo  he  pointed  his  finger  at  Malvy, 
whose  ministry  was  responsible  for  such  complaints. 

"Why  were  these  charges  ignored?"  asked  M.  Perier. 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"These  things   took  place  during  the  administration  of 
M.  Malvy,  and  again  I  ask. 
"Why  was  no  action  taken?" 

From  other  court  records  it  is  possible  to  look  still  fur- 
ther behind  the  French  windows  of  the  Bank  Perier.  After 
M.  Bauer  obtained  control,  and  the  scandal  of  the  issuance 
of  the  Ottoman  Bonds  was  laid  bare,  the  Bank  Perier  was 
found  to  be  involved.  The  bonds  were  launched  upon  the 
public  on  December  13,  1913,  in  Paris,  London,  Amsterdam, 
Antwerp  and  Brussels.  They  were  for  100  million  francs 
at  six  per  cent.,  in  the  form  of  treasury  notes,  redeemable  in 
four  years. 

Almost  at  the  same  time  the  French  government  was 
planning  a  loan  of  800  millions  to  cover  the  expenses  of  the 
reorganization  and  the  enlargement  of  her  war  equipment. 
M.  Caillaux  was  then  Minister  of  Finance,  and  it  was  an 
open  secret  that  the  loan  failed  because  of  his  methods. 
When  the  war  broke  upon  France  in  August,  1914,  the  con- 
sequences of  the  collapse  of  the  war  armament  loan  became 
fearfully  apparent.  There  were  neither  cannons  nor  muni- 
tions to  meet  the  most  modern  and  most  powerful  weapons, 
with  which  the  enemy  was  superabundantly  supplied. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  French  loan  failed,  the  Turks 
hastened  payment  of  some  of  their  debts  with  French  money 
and  ordered  war  material  from  Germany. 

The  Bank  Perier  was  convicted  and  fined  8,125,000  francs 
for  not  having  complied  with  the  formalities  prescribed  by 
the  law  of  May  25,  1872,  relative  to  the  launching  of  loans 
in  France  for  foreign  governments.  Upon  the  appeal  of  the 
bank,  the  judgment  was  reversed  by  the  Second  Chamber  of 
the  Tribunal  of  the  Seine,  over  which  M.  Hugot  presided. 
The  case  was  then  carried  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  for  final 
judgment. 

During  one  government  examination  M.  Bauer  told  this 
story  of  his  dealings  with  Bolo : 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  123 

"Bolo  was  introduced  to  my  partner,  M.  Marchal,  in 
March,  1914,  as  a  very  wealthy  and  influential  gentleman. 
He  invited  us  to  participate  in  his  establishment  of  a  mort- 
gage bank  in  Colombia.  We  did  nothing. 

"Later,  on  hearing  that  we  intended  to  start  a  bank  in 
Cuba,  Bolo  offered  to  go  there  and  act  in  these  negotiations. 
Bolo  asserted  that  he  had  some  very  important  connections 
with  the  President  of  Cuba  and  also  with  a  Cuban 
bishop.  He  asked  us  to  give  him  a  letter  of  introduction  to 
our  correspondents  in  New  York,  to  the  Royal  Bank  of 
Canada  and  the  house  of  Amsinck,  with  which  we  have  had 
business  dealings  for  half  a  century. 

"Bolo  went  to  Cuba  by  way  of  New  York.  When  he 
returned  we  found  that  the  affair  had  not  succeeded.  On 
another  occasion  Bolo  introduced  to  our  bank  the  Consul 
General  of  Colombia  at  London,  who  wished  to  borrow  250,- 
000  pounds  in  behalf  of  his  government.  Bolo  received  as 
his  commission  1,250  pounds  in  Colombian  bonds." 

After  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  Bolo  proposed  various  en- 
terprises, M.  Bauer  said,  as  for  example  the  supply  of 
provisions  and  munitions,  speculations  in  Spanish  funds  and 
the  purchase  of  Argentine  cattle.  None  of  these  schemes 
materialized. 

Bolo's  treachery,  M.  Perier's  revelations  of  the  German 
interests  in  the  Bank  Perier,  Germany's  far  reaching  plans 
to  buy  the  French  press  and  spread  the  pestilence  of  pacifism 
and  defeatism  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  France 
were  not  revealed,  however,  until  long  after  Bolo  returned 
from  America  with  his  German  millions.  For  a  time,  he 
flourished  still  more  luxuriously,  and  in  his  sumptuous  salon 
n  the  Rue  de  Phalsbourg,  he  mingled  with  many  of  the  most 
influential  men  and  women  of  France. 

It  was  at  this  time,  which  was  indeed  the  zenith  of  his 
fantastic  career,  that  he  made  a  trip  with  Humbert  to  the 
court  of  the  King  of  Spain.  Simultaneously  the  figure  of 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Caillaux  again  loomed  behind  the  scene.  King  Alphonso, 
himself,  told  the  story  in  a  statement  to  General  Danville, 
the  French  military  attache  at  Madrid. 

"During  October,  1916,  I  received  a  visit  from  M.  Hum- 
bert and  M.  Bolo,  who  came  to  see  me  at  San  Sebastian,"  he 
said.  "They  employed  several  intermediaries  to  obtain  an 
audience,  among  them  the  governor  of  the  province. 

"The  conversation  lasted  more  than  an  hour.  M.  Hum- 
bert gave  me  the  most  interesting  information  concerning  the 
military  efforts  of  France,  and  spoke  about  the  probable 
duration  of  the  war. 

"M.  Bolo,  who  seemed  unfamiliar  with  military  affairs, 
took  but  an  insignificant  part  in  the  conversation  as  long  as 
it  dealt  with  such  matters.  The  theme  shifted  finally  from 
war  to  politics,  and  M.  Humbert  spoke  to  me  about  various 
political  men,  especially  M.  Caillaux.  He  said  that  the  for- 
mer Premier  had  the  highest  esteem  for  me,  and  that  he  was 
keenly  interested  in  events  in  Spain.  This  surprised  me,  be- 
cause in  the  past  M.  Caillaux  had  never  seemed  particularly 
friendly  to  me. 

"I  asked  for  an  explanation,  but  M.  Humbert  simply 
repeated  the  remark  in  various  ways,  each  time  calling  upon 
M.  Bolo  to  substantiate  his  assertions.  Thereupon,  I  in- 
ferred that  at  least  one  of  the  objects  of  the  journey  of  M. 
Humbert  was  to  reconcile  me  with  M.  Caillaux,  and  that 
Bolo  had  accompanied  him  to  confirm  his  assurances. 

"I  also  had  the  impression  that  M.  Caillaux,  who  might 
return  to  power  at  any  moment,  wished  to  obliterate  by  this 
courteous  procedure  the  bad  impression  produced  upon  me 
by  certain  remarks  attributed  to  him  years  ago." 


CHAPTER  X 

DUVAL,  MISER,  HYPOCRITE,  PHILOSOPHER 

Reorganizes  Bonnet  Rouge  for  Germany — His  Dreams  of 
Avarice — The  San  Stefano  Bubble — Marx,  the  Mannheim 
Banker — Marx,  the  Enemy  Paymaster — The  Poison  of 
Duval's  Editorial  Irony 

Germany  now  became  exceedingly  dissatisfied  with  the 
management  of  its  defeatist  propaganda  in  the  French  news- 
papers. Thus  far  the  only  good  work,  from  the  Hun  view- 
point, had  been  done  by  the  anarchist  and  Bolshevik  pamph- 
leteers. Bolo's  spectacular  operations  had  apparently 
accomplished  nothing.  Despite  Bolo's  money,  Le  Journal 
continued  its  cry  for  the  most  vigorous  prosecution  of  the 
war.  Almereyda's  Bonnet  Rouge  was  adjudged  by  its  Ger- 
man critics  as  lacking  forcefulness  and  generalship.  "Its 
articles  showed  that  its  editor  had  more  emotions  than 
brains,"  reported  one  of  von  Jagow's  Paris  agents. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  both  Bclo  and  Almereyda  were 
squandering  most  of  their  treason  riches  in  luxury  and 
excess.  Almereyda  had  now  established  two  villas  in  addition 
to  his  two  extravagantly  furnished  apartments  in  Paris. 
One  of  his  estates  was  at  St.  Cloud,  the  other  at  Parame. 
The  maintenance  of  these  country  places  apparently  made  no 
great  hole  in  his  pocket,  for  simultaneously  he  bought  one 
of  the  most  luxurious  limousines  in  Paris,  and  within  it 
enthroned  the  notorious  Emilienne  Brevannes.  When  Mile. 
Emilienne  changed  the  shade  of  her  hair,  all  the  upholstery 
of  the  limousine  had  to  be  redecorated  to  match. 

125 


126  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Bolo  and  Lenoir  had  also  forgotten  their  German  masters 
for  their  own  pleasures.  More  and  more  frequently  Bolo 
was  the  host  at  banquets  and  masked  balls  in  the  Rue  de 
Phalsbourg.  On  one  of  these  occasions  he  distributed  wal- 
nuts, as  souvenirs.  Each  walnut  contained  a  diamond 
Lenoir  squandered  his  ill-gotten  riches  on  the  demi-monde. 
The  full  details  of  his  treason  were  not  revealed  until  years 
afterward,  as  will  be  told  in  Chapter  XXI. 

What  Germany  needed  for  this  demoralized  situation  was 
a  hard  headed,  systematic  business  man,  who  could  organize 
and  direct  a  group  of  newspapers  so  to  reach  the  greatest 
number  of  people  as  frequently  and  as  forcefully  as  possible, 
who  could  engineer  this  press  offensive  the  same  as  a  Ger- 
man military  drive. 

In  casting  about  for  the  right  man  the  Germans  found 
M.  Duval.  In  him  they  discovered  a  cunning,  shrewd,  active, 
persevering,  painstaking,  hard  working  individual,  who  in 
addition  was  the  very  secret  of  secretiveness — except  oc- 
casionally with  women.  At  bottom  he  was  a  miser.  He  was 
as  niggardly  with  his  words  as  his  centimes.  He  had  few 
friends.  Friendships  to  Duval  were  like  clothes.  He  threw 
them  away,  when  he  could  use  them  no  longer. 

Before  the  war  Duval  had  lived  a  wretched  existence. 
Always  believing  he  deserved  success,  he  never  found  recogni- 
tion. From  one  small  position  he  shifted  to  another.  He 
always  dreamed  that  someday,  he  would  find  a  place,  where 
he  could  exert  all  his  faculties  to  the  utmost  and  obtain 
wealth  and  power,  but  the  occasion  never  came. 

The  route  by  which  Germany  found  Duval  was  long  and 
circuitous.  It  led  even  as  far  away  as  Constantinople,  and 
went  back  many  years  before  the  war.  It  was  involved  in  one 
of  Germany's  many  schemes  to  exploit  Turkey,  to  obtain 
tribute  from  the  industry,  commerce,  the  natural  resources, 
the  public  utilities,  and  even  the  amusements  of  the  Ottoman 
Empire. 


DUVAL 

"He  was  a  miser  in  everyth  ing.  He  counted  his  German 
gold  and  hid  it.  He  spent  no  time  talking  about  him- 
self. He  wasted  no  effort  making  useless  friends." 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  127 

Duval  was  assistant  secretary  of  the  Society  of  San 
Stefano,  a  company  founded  in  1910  by  German,  Hungarian, 
Swiss  and  French  capitalists  to  build  and  operate  a  great 
bathing  beach  concession  near  Constantinople.  It  was  to  be 
a  little  principality  in  itself.  The  adjoining  territory  was 
to  be  developed  into  a  great  private  park,  divided  into 
estates  in  which  villas  were  planned  to  satisfy  the  whims  of 
the  most  fastidious. 

It  was  to  be  made  the  greatest  and  most  fashionable  winter 
resort  in  the  world.  Here  the  wealthy  classes  of  German}7, 
Austria  and  Hungary  might  find  refuge  from  the  snow  and 
ice  of  the  short,  dark  days  of  the  year.  Here  they  might 
come  in  the  luxurious  express  trains  of  the  Berlin-to-Bagdad 
Railroad,  in  which  Germany  was  also  sinking  millions  for 
military  as  well  as  commercial  purposes. 

Following  their  usual  custom,  the  Germans  brought  in 
capital  from  other  countries,  taking  care  to  keep  the  con- 
trol in  German  hands.  Among  the  French  share  holders  the 
largest  was  M.  de  Marcay.  Yet  of  the  80,000  shares  held 
by  de  Marcay,  nearly  all  were  for  the  account  of  H.  A. 
Marx,  a  Mannheim  banker.  Other  subscribers  were  M. 
Steiner,  Hungarian;  M.  Widner,  Swiss,  and  M.  Volmasson, 
German. 

The  Balkan  troubles  interfered  greatly  with  the  affairs 
of  the  San  Stefano  company,  with  the  result  that  these  first 
years  were  marked  by  many  vicissitudes  which  threatened  dis- 
aster continually.  Meantime  the  Germans  obtained  complete 
control.  Marx,  the  Mannheim  banker,  was  the  only  pro- 
moter, who  did  not  dispair.  Finally  he  put  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  Society  of  San  Stefano  in  his  own  private  safe. 

In  this  era  of  transition  Duval  entered  the  enterprise.  He 
had  been  recommended  to  Marx  by  M.  Dausset,  former  presi- 
dent of  the  Municipal  Council  of  Paris,  who  held  a  few 
shares.  Duval  had  been  Dausset's  electoral  agent,  had 
worked  for  Dausset's  political  success  and  done  him  many 


128  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

favors;  and  Dausset  sought  to  show  his  appreciation  by 
finding  Duval  a  job.  Marx  looked  Duval  over,  noticed  his 
unusual  reticence,  his  apparently  complete  self-effacement, 
and  gave  him  a  kind  of  secretaryship,  at  a  salary  of  250 
francs  a  month.  Although  M.  Dausset  later  retired  from 
San  Stefano,  Duval  remained.  He  more  and  more  devoted 
himself  to  the  fortunes  of  the  Mannheim  banker. 

Duval  thought  he  had  at  last  found  the  one,  great  oppor- 
tunity of  a  life  time.  He  revelled  in  the  thought  that  some- 
day, he  would  be  an  officer  in  a  corporation  which  would 
control  the  greatest  and  most  famous  pleasure  resort  in  the 
world.  He  had  seen  enough  of  German  organization,  Ger- 
man thoroughness  of  preparation,  German  financial  gen- 
eralship. He  worked  so  hard  for  Marx,  that  he  frequently 
intimated  that  250  francs  were  hardly  enough  for  his  serv- 
ices, but  Marx  always  replied: 

"No.    We  have  no  money.    Wait." 

And  Duval  waited. 

Duval  was  of  the  type  of  man,  who  always  tried  to  make 
more  out  of  his  travelling  expenses  than  his  salary.  He 
would  account  to  his  employer  for  a  ticket  and  berth  on  the 
fastest  and  most  expensive  express,  and  then  sit  up  all  night 
in  the  dirty,  foul  smelling  compartment  of  a  third-class 
coach.  But  with  Marx,  he  had  so  little  opportunity  to  pad 
his  expense  account,  that  he  constantly  complained  to  his 
wife  that  the  German  banker  was  tighter  than  the  steel 
jacket  of  a  Krupp  cannon.  For  example,  in  1913,  Duval 
wrote  his  wife: 

"Marx,  as  I  told  you,  is  charming,  but  he  has  not  yet 
spoken  to  me  about  money,  and  that  is  what  interests  me." 

Again : 

"Marx  gave  me  500  francs,  but  I  owe  150  francs  to  the 
treasury,  which  I  must  reimburse  and  I  have  to  pay  my  hotel 
bill  yet.  That  does  not  leave  much." 

Also: 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  129 

"I  shall  try  to  make  something  extra  on  this.  I  can't 
tell  how  much,  but  what  bothers  me  is  that  Marx  buys  my 
ticket,  himself.  I  was  expecting  to  make  at  least  200  francs 
on  my  transportation,  but  am  left  nothing." 

If  it  were  possible  to  get  an  invitation  to  dinner  and  thus 
avoid  the  otherwise  necessary  expense  of  eating,  Duval  was 
always  a  most  appreciative  guest.  Friendships  which  pro- 
vided food  he  gladly  cultivated.  In  one  letter  from  Ger- 
many, he  explained  that  he  was  counting  on  an  invitation 
to  dine  with  Marx,  and  that  otherwise  he  would  not  have 
money  enough  to  pay  his  way  back  to  Paris,  "because,"  he 
added,  "restaurants  are  dear  in  Germany."  He  said  he  really 
did  not  know  how  to  spend  his  evenings,  because  if  he  went 
anywhere  he  had  to  give  tips.  There  was  no  heat  in  his 
room.  He  had  been  thinking  of  getting  warm  by  going  to  a 
church  concert,  "but,"  he  reflected,  "they  might  ask  for  a 
contribution." 

In  Paris  Duval  and  his  wife  lived  in  the  meanest,  most 
comfortless  fashion.  He  figured  his  household  expenses 
down  to  the  centime.  He  always  kept  putting  money  away, 
and  would  borrow  before  drawing  on  his  bank  account. 

Duval  delighted  in  books,  in  literature,  philosophy,  and 
all  the  other  abstract  sciences.  In  Aristotle  or  Kant  hq 
sought  to  forget  his  narrow  environments,  the  little,  pinched, 
stale  smelling  home,  where  his  wife  cooked  and  washed  and 
lived  the  life  of  a  country  peasant.  Mme.  Duval  never  read, 
because  she  couldn't.  She  had  only  the  vaguest  conception 
of  even  the  titles  of  the  books,  with  which  she  beheld  her 
lord  and  master  commune  for  hours  and  hours  together. 
She  knew  nothing  but  drugery,  and  when  he  told  her  that 
he  thought  she  ought  to  earn  some  money  by  working  out, 
she  acquiesced,  because  her  poor,  benighted  mind  knew  of  no 
other  answer. 

Into  the  streets  she  went,  looking  for  work.  At  last  she 
obtained  employment  as  the  linen  keeper  of  the  great  Laxi- 


130  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

boisiere  hospital,  which  is  situated  almost  along  side  of  the 
Gare  du  Nord  (Northern  Railroad  Station)  and  fronts  upon 
the  Boulevard  de  la  Chapelle.  Even  later,  when  Duval  finally 
plunged  his  hands  into  a  veritable  river  of  gold,  he  permitted 
his  wife  to  continue  to  do  the  same  menial  work  both  at 
home  and  outside. 

When  the  war  burst  upon  Europe,  Duval's  glittering  San 
Stefano  bubble  burst  also.  But  he  did  not  forget  Marx. 
On  August  3,  1914,  only  two  days  after  the  German  armies 
began  smashing  their  way  through  Belgium  toward  Paris,  he 
sat  down  and  wrote  the  Mannheim  banker  a  letter,  which 
contained  this  cryptic  passage. 

"The  best  way  to  continue  to  make  myself  worthy  of  your 
confidence  is  to  await  the  end  of  the  storm.  Always  ready 
to  excute  your  orders,  if  you  see  fit  to  give  me  any." 

Was  Duval  offering  himself  to  the  enemy  for  sale? 

Did  he  now  plan  to  make  his  San  Stefano  connections  with 
Marx  a  highroad  to  treason? 

At  all  events,  he  kept  in  close  touch  with  Marx,  who 
established  headquarters  in  Berne,  Switzerland,  where  he  fre- 
quently received  his  Stefano  secretary  in  secret  conference. 
In  the  first  two  years  of  the  war  Duval  made  as  many  as 
thirteen  trips  to  Switzerland,  and  always  for  the  purpose  of 
seeing  Marx. 

Through  Switzerland  Germany  maintained  various  chan- 
nels of  communication  into  France.  Switzerland  was  the  cen- 
tre of  the  German  spy  system.  At  Geneva,  Zurich,  Berne 
her  agents  met,  took  their  orders,  disappeared  over  the 
French  border,  and,  thanks  to  Malvy's  police,  returned  in 
safety.  Switzerland  also  was  the  clearing  house  for  German 
defeatist  and  Bolshevik  propaganda,  and  from  Switzerland 
the  "press  poison  squad,"  as  it  came  to  be  known,  went  forth 
to  spread  pestilence  in  France,  Italy,  Russia  and  England. 
The  pacifist  movement  in  America,  before  the  United  States 
declared  war  against  Germany  on  April  6,  1917,  was  as- 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  131 

signed  to  von  Bernstorff,  the  German  Ambassador  at  Wash- 
ington. Count  von  Luxburg,  at  Buenos  Ayres,  handled  all 
German  propaganda  in  South  America,  but  he  generally  re- 
ported to  Berlin  through  von  Bernstorff. 

Marx,  of  Mannheim,  was  selected  as  one  of  the  German 
espionage  and  propaganda  paymasters  in  Switzerland.  In- 
vestigations by  the  French  secret  service  in  Switzerland 
resulted  in  this  laconic  report,  which  is  to  be  found  in  the 
files  of  the  French  Ministry  of  War: 

"Marx,  a  banker  of  Mannheim,  whose  bank  was  negotiat- 
ing before  the  war  various  government  transactions,  is  at 
present  established  at  Berne.  His  functions  are  to  perform 
money  operations  in  which  the  German  Legation  does  not 
wish  to  show  its  hand,  as  for  example,  the  payment  of  sub- 
sidies to  agents." 

When  the  Berlin  foreign  office  became  more  and  more  dis- 
appointed with  Bolo  and  Almereyda,  it  sought  through 
Marx  to  find  reinforcements.  Marx  turned  to  Duval.  The 
German  banker  and  spy  paymaster  had  come  to  learn  those 
qualities  in  Duval  which  seemed  to  fit  him  exactly  for  any 
enterprise  in  which  secrecy,  perfidy,  and  hypocrisy  were 
vital. 

In  May,  1915,  during  one  of  Duval's  visits  to  the  Swiss 
Republic,  Marx  broached  his  plan.  Besides  Duval,  there  was 
also  present  an  old  time  newspaper  man,  named  Marion, 
whom  Duval  had  recommended  as  a  man  worthy  of  all  con- 
fidence and  not  "too  scrupulous."  Duval  had  once  worked 
for  Marion  for  only  200  francs  a  month;  but  both  Marion 
and  Duval  were  wise  enough  not  to  tell  Marx  how  little  some 
French  newspaper  men  earn.  With  Marx  they  talked  thou- 
sands and  millions. 

Despite  Duval's  guarantee  that  Marion  possessed  discre- 
tion, the  latter  told  the  whole  story  to  a  woman  as  soon  as 
he  got  back  to  Paris.  She  was  Mme.  Baux,  and  Mme.  Baux 
told  others.  Years  afterward,  when  the  story  finally  reached 


132  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

the  ears  of  Captain  Bouchardon,  the  great  investigator  of 
the  Great  Conspiracy,  she  was  summoned,  as  a  witness,  and 
testified  as  follows: 

"On  his  return  Marion  told  me  that  he  had  met  Marx,  the 
German,  and  that  Marx  had  spoken  to  them  like  this:  'If 
we  had  been  better  known  in  France,  none  of  these  things 
would  have  happened.  We  must  have  a  newspaper  which 
can  serve  as  a  connecting  link  between  Germany  and 
France.' 

"I  learned  that  later  Duval  had  gone  to  Switzerland  alone, 
and  Marion  said  to  me:  'You  know  Duval  made  arrange- 
ments with  Marx.  As  a  result  the  newspaper  will  soon  ap- 
pear.' 

"I  protested,  but  Marion  said:  'Come  on,  we  will  not  do 
any  harm.  It  is  for  the  sake  of  peace.  It  is  for  a  pacifist 
campaign.' 

"Later  when  Duval  came  to  lunch  at  our  home  one  day, 
he  said  he  was  going  to  start  a  newspaper  in  Paris,  which 
was  to  prepare  for  the  establishment  of  economic  relations 
between  France  and  Germany  after  the  war. 

"But  I  replied  that  they  were  doing  wrong.  Duval  re- 
torted that  I  was  wrong  in  worrying  about  it.  After  that, 
Duval  made  numerous  trips  to  Switzerland,  and  each  time  I 
could  not  help  saying  to  him,  'I  am  scared  to  pieces  at  the 
thought  of  what  you  are  trying  to  do.' 

"Yes,  I  hoped  the  censorship  would  stop  the  publication 
of  these  articles.  My  worry  was  boundless,  when  I  saw  these 
strongly  pacifist  articles  were  allowed  to  pass." 

On  June  23,  1915,  aboiit  a  month  after  Marx  unfolded  his 
pacifist  ideas  to  Duval  and  Marion,  there  was  a  meeting  of 
the  directors  of  the  San  Stefano  Company  in  Geneva,  at 
which  upon  the  recommendation  of  Marx  it  was  decided  to 
liquidate  the  company.  The  "task"  of  liquidation  was  in- 
trusted to  Duval  and  two  Swiss  associates. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  San  Stefano  concern  had  nothing 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  133 

to  liquidate.  It  had  been  dead  for  more  than  a  year.  Wit- 
nesses later  were  found,  who  testified  there  was  not  a  sou 
in  the  treasury,  even  at  the  beginning  of  the  war.  The 
liquidation  job  for  Duval  was  merely  a  blind  for  his  de- 
featist campaign. 

Marx  looked  over  the  newspaper  field  in  Paris,  and  decided 
that  Duval  should  take  hold  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge  and  re- 
organize it  from  top  to  bottom,  that  Almereyda  should  be 
permitted  to  remain  its  ostensible  editor-in-chief,  and  in 
order  to  placate  his  avarice  he  should  receive  some  extra 
money  to  permit  him  to  continue  the  mad  life  of  dissipation 
and  excess,  to  which  he  had  surrendered  himself.  But  behind 
Almereyda,  Duval  should  be  the  real  power  in  the  newspaper, 
should  dictate  its  editorial  policy,  and  should,  himself,  write 
a  series  of  articles  that  would  exploit  all  the  most  insidious 
and  perfidious  doctrines  of  pacifism. 

So  one  day  in  1916  Duval  entered  the  ramshakled  offices 
of  the  Bonnet  Rouge,  and  finding  Almereyda  at  his  desk  so 
stupified  with  drugs,  that  he  could  not  lift  his  head,  Duval 
said  to  the  office  boy: 

"Call  a  taxicab  and  send  your  chief  home." 

"Which  home?"  asked  the  lad  in  blank  astonishment. 

"Any,"  replied  Duval. 

Through  the  office  the  new  business  manager  walked  with 
slow  step,  examining  all  he  found,  re-arranging  this,  throw- 
ing away  that,  bringing  what  order  he  could  out  of  chaos, 
and  when  he  had  finished,  he  sat  down  at  Almereyda's  per- 
fumed, opiate  haunted  desk,  and  wrote  an  order  for  cleaners 
and  decorators  to  come  the  next  day. 

"We  want  peace,  but  not  a  morphine  peace,"  was  his  re- 
mark to  one  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge  reporters,  as  he  closed 
Almereyda's  desk,  and  turned  to  leave.  Afterward,  when 
DuvaPs  deathlike  reticence  had  become  the  marvel  of  the 
office,  it  was  explained  that  he  could  not  have  uttered  so 


134  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

many  words  on  his  first  visit,  if  his  tongue  had  not  been 
loosened  by  the  fumes  of  Almereyda's  desk. 

Marion  had  already  become  the  administrator  of  the 
Bonnet  Rouge,  and  Duval  turned  the  details  of  the  reorgani- 
zation over  to  his  former  employer.  With  Almereyda  Duval 
soon  became  popular  because  of  his  inexhaustible  store  of 
money.  Then  too  Duval  was  so  modest.  He  preferred  to  sit 
in  a  back  office,  and  let  Marion  and  Almereyda  see  visitors 
and  be  introduced  as  the  "administrator"  or  the  "editor-in- 
chief."  Duval  had  never  wanted  fame,  but  power.  In  a 
note  book  of  philosophical  reflexions,  he  once  wrote: 

"Fame  is  the  slave,  power,  the  master  of  fate." 

In  this  same  note  book  he  also  wrote: 

"I  like  theatricals,  thanks  to  my  passes.  They  show  how 
the  unseen  brain  of  the  playwright  makes  mere  puppets  of 
the  actors  and  actresses.  They  explain  the  power  of  mind 
over  matter." 

After  he  had  taken  hold  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge,  he  said  one 
day  to  his  stenographer  in  a  burst  of  confidence  which  com- 
pletely staggered  her : 

"Formerly,  I  was  a  very  frank  man.  I  have  become  pro- 
foundly hypocritical.  It  is  the  fault  of  society." 

In  pursuance  of  his  contract  with  Marx,  Duval  began 
filling  the  columns  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge  with  articles  origin- 
ally drafted  and  passed  upon  by  Germany's  own  publicity 
experts  in  Berlin.  They  were  the  result  of  the  concentrated 
thought  of  Germany's  best  brains,  and  contained  all  the  cun- 
ningly combined  ingredients  of  psychic  poison,  which  Ger- 
man "Kultur"  could  possibly  invent. 

How  these  articles  were  traced  directly  into  Germany, 
how  they  were  phrased  with  such  subtleness  as  to  stir  the 
passions  of  the  French  against  their  Allies  and  even  against 
themselves  will  be  told  in  a  later  chapter. 

In  addition  to  the  "made  in  Germany"  articles,  Duval 
wrote  many  others  in  which  he  gave  free  rein  to  his  own 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  135 

st}*le  of  humor.  He  had  always  regarded  himself  as  a  master 
of  irony.  In  his  idle  hours,  before  the  days  of  Marx  and 
San  Stefano,  he  found  infinite  delight  in  writing  essays  on 
the  foibles  and  weaknesses  of  human  nature.  He  had  laid 
these  mental  products  carefully  away  in  the  belief  that  some 
day,  when  his  merits  were  more  fully  recognized,  he  would 
sell  them  for  a  good,  round  figure. 

Duval's  articles  in  the  Bonnet  Rouge  were  all  signed  "M 
Badin."  Here  is  one,  for  instance,  from  the  issue  of  June 
29,  1915: 

"Upon  learning  that  the  British  were  shelling  the  German 
trenches  vigorously  and  had  penetrated  the  enemy  lines  at 
several  points  without  committing  the  imprudenr-e  of  going 
too  far  forward  and  install  themselves  in  an  advanced  posi- 
tion, I  conceived  the  idea  of  inviting  my  intiirate  friends 
in  order  to  celebrate  this  great  event. 

"But  the  first  one  to  whom  I  disclosed  my  intention,  dis- 
suaded me.  He  said : 

"  'Your  enthusiasm  is  premature.  What  you  thought  was 
an  offensive  was  only  a  test  of  ammunition.  The  Allies  have 
accumulated  artillery  and  munitions  for  over  a  year.  You 
ought  to  know  that  they  are  not  going  to  squander  every- 
thing in  a  few  days  time,  to  find  themselves  suddenly  short. 
We  have  not  only  a  stock  of  material  but  also  an  ample 
supply  of  patience.  Let  us  increase  the  latter. 

"  'Therefore,  postpone  your  celebrating  until  our  terri- 
tory is  liberated. 

"  'At  any  rate,  you  ought  to  know  we  are  not  in  any  haste. 
The  poilus  have  become  admirably  accustomed  to  the  exist- 
ence of  troglodytes  (cave  dwellers).  The  civilians  have  also 
organized  their  lives  for  an  indefinite  prologation  of  the 
war.  There  is  no  need  of  hastening  the  end. 

"  'Furthermore,  since  the  honor  of  beginning  this  ammu- 
nition test  falls  to  our  friends  of  Great  Britain,  be  assured 


136  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

that  they  will  act  with  coolness  and  calm,  so  characteristic 
of  their  temperment. 

"  'No  foolish  rashness.   .   .  .  Oh,  no. 

"  'You  may  think  that  two  years  of  war  are  too  long,  but 
what  are  two  years  of  war?  Without  going  so  far  as  to 
look  for  a  parallel  in  the  One  Hundred  Years  War,  or  the 
Thirty  Years  War,  may  I  not  say  that  Napoleon's  regime 
was  one  uninterrupted  succession  of  combats? 

"  'Come  on,  dear  Monsieur  Badin,  do  not  worry  about 
celebrating  forthwith  the  final  victory.' 

"As  my  friend's  talk  seemed  worthy  of  consideration,  I 
think  I  am  acting  patriotically  in  giving  him  this  small 
amount  of  publicity." 

Duval  tried  to  neutralize  criticism  of  the  Germans  by 
making  it  appear  ridiculous.  Here  is  a  typical  example, 
printed  for  special  circulation  in  the  trenches: 

"The  other  evening,  a  friend  of  mine,  a  so-called  repatriot, 
gave  a  dinner.  As  I  was  one  of  the  party,  I  took  advantage 
of  the  occasion  to  interview  him. 

"He  related  to  me  such  things,  as  would  make  the  hair 
stand  on  end.  He  said  first:  'I  shall  not  discuss  in  detail 
the  attacks  on  women.  All  the  newspapers  have  furnished 
you  this  information.  It  is  unimaginable.  Things  were  so 
bad  in  one  region,  that  we  asked  ourselves  how  the  Germans 
could  find  time  to  fight,  when  it  seemed  as  if  all  their  time  was 
occupied  by  their  orgies.  .  .  . 

"  'About  their  thefts  and  pillages,  however,  I  shall  be  more 
explicit.  You  cannot  imagine  what  a  genius  the  Germans 
have  for  plunder.  They  can  find  a  way  to  steal  money  and 
securities  from  people  who  never  had  any. 

"  'For  example,  prior  to  the  invasion  of  the  Teutons,  it 
was  thought  there  were  only  two  pianos  in  the  town  in  which 
I  lived.  Well,  sir,  after  these  Germans  came  they  carried  off 
fifty  pianos.  As  for  clocks,  bronzes  and  other  works  of  art, 
the  crimes  of  the  Germans  have  been  positively  fantastic* 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  137 

They  stole  about  thirty  wagonloads  of  these  objects  from 
the  most  miserable  huts  and  sent  them  to  the  other  side  of 
the  Rhine.' 

"  'But  tell  me  about  the  atrocities.  How  about  the 
atrocities?'  I  asked. 

"  'Well,  sir,'  he  replied,  'they  committed  atrocities.  I  shall 
not  enumerate  or  describe  them.  The  papers  tell  you  about 
them.' 

"  'How  about  the  food  question?'  I  asked. 

"  'They  eat  bread  made  of  saw  dust  and  a  species  of  cab- 
bage. Once  a  week  they  have  an  imponderable  ration  of  seal 
meat;  and  now  and  then  a  filet  of  salt  herring  half  decom- 
posed.' 

"  'And  you,  what  were  you  eating?' 

"  'Ah,  there  is  where  their  cold  cruelty  reveals  itself. 
Those  butchers  did  not  feed  us  any  better  than  they  fed 
themselves.  They  said  to  us,  "Your  countrymen  are  trying 
to  starve  us  by  means  of  a  blockade.  Well,  you  shall  suffer 
with  us.'  " 

Duval  constantly  sought  to  stir  the  discontent  of  the  sol- 
dier in  the  trenches  by  reminding  him  of  his  hardships,  by 
insinuating  that  his  task  was  as  thankless  as  it  was  danger- 
ous. Here  is  one  of  his  pictures  of  a  poilu. 

"His  moral  and  physical  health  was  maintained  in  pretty 
good  conddition.  Only  one  thing  worried  him.  It  seemed 
to  him  that  the  ceiling  was  constantly  lowering,  that  the  soil 
of  the  trenches  was  rising,  and  that  his  arms  were  becom- 
ing shorter,  when  he  was  carrying  food  to  his  mouth.  Fin- 
ally, he  found  a  small  mirror  one  day  near  a  wall.  He  re- 
joiced over  this,  because  he  was  going  to  be  able  to  shave 
himself,  but  when  he  looked  at  himself  in  the  mirror,  he  felt 
an  indescribable  satisfaction.  His  neck  had  grown  extremely 
long." 

So  much  for  the  soldiers,  who  fought  and  died  to  save 
France.  Of  the  munition  workers,  who  toiled  behind  the 


138  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

lines  and  made  possible  the  victories  of  the  French  armies, 
Duval  had  this  to  say  in  the  Bonnet  Rouge  of  April  20, 
1917: 

"The  workers  express  great  joy  because  of  their  worldly 
goods.  Flags  of  the  Allies  decorate  the  walls  of  the  most 
humble  lodgings.  Before  the  portraits  of  our  generals, 
flowers  are  renewed  each  day. 

"Cereals  are  so  abundant  that  the  chickens  are  fed  with 
grains  and  the  cattle  with  bread.  Meats  and  vegetables 
arrive  in  such  great  quantities  that  the  consumer  is  disgusted 
with  them.  If  no  coal  is  found  any  longer  anywhere,  it  is 
because  the  warlike  ardor  with  which  the  whole  nation  is 
ablaze  makes  the  burning  of  other  fuel  unnecessary. 

"Finally,  one  more  fact,  which  will  completely  assure  us 
of  the  definite  destruction  of  our  adversaries.  The  penguins 
are  mobilizing  and  are  preparing  to  declare  war  on  Ger- 
many." 


CHAPTER  XI 

ALMOST  CAUGHT 

DwvaTs  Trips  to  Switzerland  Arouse  Suspicion — Caillaux 
Alarmed — Examines  Duval's  Dossier — Marion  Burns 
Papers — Mme.  Duval's  Mind  a  Blank — Duval  Conquered 

.  .  by  Mile.  Vial — His  Gay  Ride  to  Mamers — Marx  and 
Caillaux — Marx's  Handwriting  in  Caillaux's  Safe 

By  the  end  of  the  summer  of  1916  under  the  careful, 
systematic  and  ever  active  management  of  Duval,  the  Bonnet 
Rouge  had  become  a  formidable  organ  of  opinion.  Its 
columns  were  filled  with  news  displayed  graphically  and  im- 
pressively. It's  editorials  were  based  apparently  upon  high 
authority  and  buttressed  with  comprehensive  and  timely 
interviews. 

An  ever  increasing  flood  of  money  was  now  pouring  in. 
Duval  made  almost  monthly  trips  to  Switzerland,  where  he 
received  checks  from  Marx  which  ranged  from  77,000  to 
150,000  francs.  He  found  Marx  at  Berne.  He  also  con- 
sulted the  German  publicity  agents  in  out  of  the  way  villas 
in  the  Alps,  where  he  might  escape  the  watch  of  the  French 
foreign  secret  service,  and  receive  instructions  in  the  latest 
and  most  approved  German  methods  of  instilling  the  poisons 
of  pacifism  and  defeatism  into  the  French  mind.  After  each 
return  from  Switzerland  there  was  another  peace  drive  in  the 
Bonnet  Rouge,  and  another  package  of  franc  notes  deposited 
in  Duval's  private  safe.  Duval  paid  them  out  with  great 
discretion.  He  never  entered  these  "receipts"  in  the  ledger 
of  the  newspaper,  but  handed  them  direct  to  Aimer ey da, 

139 


140  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Marion  and  Goldsky,  while  to  others  in  the  office,  who  did 
not  know  the  evil  source  of  his  money,  the  old  miser  doled  out 
the  German  gold  in  "salaries." 

Everything  in  the  office  seemed  to  be  running  tranquilly, 
till  one  day  in  September,  a  reporter,  named  Landau,  en- 
tered on  the  run.  He  had  just  leaped  out  of  the  tonneau 
of  one  of  Almereyda's  racing  cars.  The  dust  of  the  street 
made  his  eyes  look  all  the  more  hollow,  as  he  stared  around 
fthe  office. 

"Where  is  Duval?"  he  asked. 

Landau  addressed  this  question  to  Mme.  Lewis,  a  stenog- 
rapher, as  she  tucked  away  a  loose  curl  and  powdered  her 
nose. 

"He  is  still  out  of  town,"  she  replied.  "You  want  to  see 
M.  Marion,  don't  you?" 

"Yes,  the  very  minute  he  is  disengaged,"  said  Landau.  A 
moment  later,  two  mysterious  looking  gentlemen,  who  were 
simply  known  as  representatives  of  liquor  interests,  walked 
out  of  Marion's  office  and  into  the  street.  The  next  instant 
Landau  was  bending  over  Marion's  desk. 

"I  have  just  come  from  M.  Caillaux,"  he  said.  "We  are 
all  to  be  arrested.  Caillaux  said  so.  He  has  seen  the  dossier 
ofDuval  in  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior,  and  he  wants  to 
understand  all  about  Duval.  He  asks  for  certain  explana- 
tions. We  must  see  Almereyda  and  Duval,  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, and  have  them  consult  Caillaux." 

Marion  fairly  leaped  from  his  chair. 

"Duval  is  still  in  Switzerland,"  he  exclaimed.  "  We  must 
act  without  him.  We  must  burn  those  papers  at  once. 
Quick,  let  us  get  them  before  anything  happens." 

Orders  were  immediately  issued  to  all  the  other  members 
of  the  staff  to  tell  no  one  of  Landau's  message  of  warning. 
Meantime  Marion  opened  a  big  safe  of  which  only  two  or 
three  in  the  office  knew  the  combination.  He  asked  Landau 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  141 

to  leave  him  alone  as  he  sorted  out  various  letters,  which  he 
carried  to  a  back  room  and  burned. 

Marion  well  understood  the  art  of  burning  papers.  He 
knew  that  many  a  crime  had  been  traced  from  cinders.  He 
had  not  only  been  a  newspaper  writer,  but  he  had  combined 
with  journalism  the  more  precarious  avocation  of  blackmail. 
He  had  been  condemned  twice  for  swindling,  and  once  for 
desertion.  He  had  long  ago  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would 
never  be  caught  again. 

As  Marion  crumpled  up  the  last  charred  leaf  of  paper,  he 
suddenly  cried  out: 

"What  did  Duval  do  with  those  last  papers  he  showed 
me?  Oh,  I  almost  forgot  them." 

Marion  made  one  more  search  through  the  secret  drawers 
of  Duval's  desk,  to  which  he  also  had  the  key,  and  then  said 
almost  aloud: 

"He  would  not  leave  them  here  in  this  office  anyway. 
They  must  be  at  his  home." 

Calling  Mme.  Lewis  he  said: 

"You  must  do  exactly  as  I  tell  you,  and  everything  will 
be  all  right.  The  other  political  parties  are  trying  to  make 
trouble.  That  is  all.  I  wish  you  would  go  to  Duval's  house 
and  see  Mme.  Duval.  She  may  be  out,  for  she  works  in  a 
hospital.  Never  mind,  wait  for  her.  No  matter  how  long 
you  have  to  wait,  wait.  Tell  her  to  destroy  all  papers  in  the 
house,  which  relate  to  the  Bonnet  Rouge.  Do  you  under- 
stand, all  papers  that  concern  his  newspaper  business  and 
his  trips  abroad  must  be  destroyed  immediately." 

Mme.  Lewis  had  won  the  confidence  of  both  Duval  and 
Almereyda.  She  was  always  called  upon,  when  anything  of  a 
peculiarly  dangerous  natui'e  was  on  foot. 

Through  the  streets  as  fast  as  a  puffing  Paris  taxicab 
could  take  her,  the  faithful  stenographer  hurried  to  the 
Duval  home.  She  showed  Mme.  Duval  the  letter,  but  Mme 
Duval  simply  stared: 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"I  don't  know  where  he  keeps  any  of  his  papers,"  she  re- 
plied slowly.  "He  never  says  anything  to  me  about  his 
affairs." 

"We  must  look,  then,"  exclaimed  Mme.  Lewis  impulsively. 
"Come,  come."  The  wife  still  stared.  "No,"  she  faltered. 
"I  know  he  would  not  like  it.  He  never  wants  any  of  his 
papers  disturbed.  I  am  afraid  to  touch  anything." 

With  Marion's  warning  still  ringing  in  her  ears,  Mme. 
Lewis  made  an  effort  to  find  the  papers  her  master  wanted, 
but  soon  gave  up  in  dispair.  Instead,  she  found  a  long  series 
of  notes  in  which  the  miser  philosopher  had  expressed  vari- 
ous mental  abstractions,  and  among  them  a  half  completed 
treatise  on  the  genesis  of  the  soul. 

As  soon  as  Duval  returned  from  Switzerland,  in  response 
to  a  hurry  call  from  Marion,  he  was  told  that  Caillaux  had 
become  greatly  worried  by  various  press  attacks  upon  his 
connections  with  the  Bonnet  Rouge.  Landau  explained  that 
Caillaux  thought  that  certain  people  in  the  Bonnet  Rouge 
office  were  compromising  him  by  various  indiscretions. 

"The  'President'  (as  the  Bonnet  Rouge  crowd  always 
spoke  of  Caillaux)  thinks  that  this  newspaper  talk  about 
your  trips  to  Switzerland  will  land  us  all  in  jail,"  said  Lan- 
dau to  Duval. 

"Yes,  Malvy  has  been  asked  by  Premier  Briand  to  make 
an  investigation  of  everyone  in  this  office,"  interrupted 
Almereyda.  "Malvy  said  that  you  should  not  ask  for  a 
renewal  of  your  passport  for  any  more  Switzerland  trips, 
until  matters  right  themselves,"  looking  at  Duval  as  he 
spoke. 

"You  had  best  go  and  see  the  'President'  and  explain 
everything,"  said  Marion,  as  he  dusted  off  the  lint  from 
Duval's  coat,  noticing,  as  he  did  so,  a  number  of  seams  that 
were  worn  threadbare. 

"No,  no,  I  do  not  want  to  see  M.  Caillaux,"  responded  the 
business  manager  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge,  turning  toward  his 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  143 

inner  office,  as  if  he  would  rather  lock  himself  behind  its 
doors,  far  away  from  Caillaux  and  everyone  else.  "I  am  no 
orator.  I  can  say  nothing  to  Caillaux." 

But  his  associates  persisted.  They  were  afraid  they 
would  lose  Caillaux's  friendship.  They  thought  that  if 
Malvy's  master  was  not  propitiated  there  would  be  no  more 
passports,  no  more  checks  from  Switzerland. 

Duval  continued  obdurate.  He  would  not  listen  to  argu- 
ment, and  so  at  last  his  confreres  decided  upon  a  strategem. 
They  drove  up  to  the  Bonnet  Rouge  office  one  day  in  one  of 
Almereyda's  finest  automobiles,  and  announced  that  they 
were  all  going  to  the  Caillaux  country  place  at  Mamers  to  in- 
troduce Landau's  fiancee  to  the  "President."  They  went 
into  Duval's  stuffy  office,  and  tried  to  drag  him  out. 

"You  must  come  along  too,"  insisted  Landau.  "You  will 
enjoy  the  ride.  You  are  working  too  hard." 

"No,  I  must  work,"  replied  Duval  doggedly. 

"Oh,  I  wish  you  would  come,"  said  a  handsomely  gowned 
lady,  whose  veil  just  revealed  her  round,  limpid  eyes.  She 
had  entered  quietly,  and  now  stood  at  Duval's  very  elbow. 
The  old  man  gallantly  sprang  to  his  feet  .  He  was  already 
conquered. 

"Mile.  Vial,  my  fiancee,"  explained  Landau,  stepping  for- 
ward. 

"Yes,  and  you  will  sit  right  next  to  me,"  added  Mile. 
Vial. 

And  so  she  did.  Landau  climbed  in  with  the  chauffeur. 
Duval  sat  in  one  luxurious  corner  of  the  tonneau  and  the 
only  lady  in  the  party  leaned  gently  against  his  shoulder. 
Marion  and  Goldsky,  who  had  been  a  nurse  and  stretcher 
bearer  in  the  army,  before  he  got  a  job  on  the  Bonnet  Rouge 
and  wrote  with  all  the  authority  of  another  Napoleon  under 
the  pen  camouflage  of  "Gen.  N ,"  sat  opposite. 

Before  the  automobile  reached  Mamers,  Duval  had  become 
the  life  of  the  party.  Under  the  benign  influence  of  Mile. 


144  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Vial  his  words  scintillated  with  flashes  of  wit,  with  now  and 
then  touches  of  satire,  historic  allusions,  or  the  reflections  of 
his  own  quaint  philosophy. 

"The  old  crab  has  certainly  crawled  out  of  his  shell," 
whispered  Goldsky  to  Marion,  as  the  party  stepped  out 
upon  the  velvet  lawn  of  the  Caillaux  villa. 

Duval  was  going  to  climb  back  into  the  automobile  when 
Landau  said: 

"M.  Caillaux  will  be  delighted  to  see  you.  Now  is  your 
opportunity  to  straighten  everything  out." 

Duval  drew  Landau  to  one  side,  and  replied : 

"No,  no.  I  cannot  ask  for  my  passport  now.  Caillaux 
will  not  dare  help  me.  I  do  not  wish  to  attract  attention. 
I  must  keep  in  the  back  ground." 

"Oh,  you  have  said  all  that  before,"  laughed  Landau. 

"True  then,  true  now,"  insisted  !Duval.  "Furthermore,  I 
don't  think  M.  Caillaux  will  receive  me." 

Again  Mile.  Vial  went  to  the  rescue. 

"M.  Caillaux  will  certainly  enjoy  a  man  of  your  mental- 
ity," she  said,  taking  Duval  by  the  arm.  "Why,  I  think  you 
are  a  great  deal  more  clever,  than  he." 

With  Mile.  Vial  on  one  side,  and  Landau  on  the  other, 
Duval  walked  through  the  great  doorway,  and  permitted  his 
name  to  be  announced. 

"You  must  have  confidence  in  Caillaux's  star,"  said  Lan- 
dau to  Duval,  while  they  waited.  "You  must  have  faith  in 
his  power.  If  we  prove  to  him  that  we  are  keeping  within 
the  law,  that  we  have  done  nothing  indiscreet,  that  we  are 
still  fighting  his  battles,  we  shall  have  no  further  trouble. 
Caillaux  still  is  able  to  get  what  he  wants  from  the  govern- 
ment. Malvy,  who  controls  the  passport  bureau  of  the 
Prefecture  of  Police,  is  still  in  the  cabinet,  and  Malvy  is  the 
same  as  Caillaux." 

In  the  speech  of  Lt.  Mornet,  Chief  Prosecutor  of  the 
Third  Council  of  War,  at  a  trial  which  later  will  be  described 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  145 

in  detail,  the  far  reaching  importance  of  this  automobile  trip 
to  Mamers  has  been  set  forth  in  the  following  language : 

"Up  to  the  last  minute  neither  Marion  nor  Duval  thought 
that  they  would  be  invited  in.  The  truth  of  the  matter  was 
that  M.  Caillaux  was  not  particularly  pleased  to  receive  in 
his  country  retreat  of  Mamers,  in  a  peaceful  corner  of  a 
peaceful  province,  such  boisterous  guests  as  Duval's  com- 
panions. 

"Just  the  same  M.  Caillaux  consented  to  see  them.  That 
the  interview  was  not  entirely  cordial  is  not  to  be  doubted. 
They  were  not  asked  to  stay  to  luncheon.  As  Marion  said 
afterward,  'I  realized  that  after  all  we  were  not  expected. 
M.  Caillaux  pretexted  a  luncheon  at  the  General  Council  to 
excuse  himself  for  not  being  our  host.' 

"Caillaux's  excuses,  however,  showed  he  was  courteous  and 
interpreted  the  visit  as  an  act  of  good  will.  If  they  did  not 
sit  down  at  the  Caillaux  family  table,  they  drank  the  Caillaux 
Oporto  wine  and  accepted  the  Caillaux  cigars. 

"I  am  sure  that  while  returning  from  Mamers  to  Paris, 
Duval  was  able  to  say  to  himself : 

"  'Henceforth,  I  will  be  able  to  do  anything.  I  have  been 
received  by  a  former  Premier  of  France,  who  knows  my  rela- 
tions with  Marx.  I  am  perfectly  safe  from  now  on.' 

"And  to  inspire  Duval  with  still  greater  confidence,  Lan- 
dau and  Goldsky  said  to  him: 

"  'You  need  have  no  more  hesitancy  about  going  to  the 
police  and  asking  for  a  passport.  We  will  go  with  you,  and 
have  M.  Leymarie,  M.  Malvy's  assistant,  take  care  of  you.' 

"And  Landau  and  Goldsky  made  good  their  promise. 
They  introduced  Duval  to  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  who 
received  him  with  this  greeting : 

"  'You  wish  to  go  to  Switzerland  to  see  Marx?  All  right, 
you  shall  have  your  passport.' ' 

Long  after  the  Mamers  interview,  tell  tale  papers  were 
discovered  by  the  French  foreign  secret  service  associated 


146  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

with  the  Italian  police,  which  prompt  the  following  questions : 

(1)  When  Caillaux  and  Duval  met,  did  not  these  two 
men  already  understand  they  were  working  for  the  same 
master? 

(2)  Did  not  both  of  them  know  Marx? 

(3)  Did  Duval  tell  Caillaux  that  he  had  obtained  checks 
from  Marx  to  liquidate  the  San  Stefano  Company,  or  to 
spread  German  propaganda  in  France? 

The  documents  which  provoke  these  speculations  were 
found  in  Caillaux's  strong  box  in  Florence  along  with  the 
papers  which  revealed  his  plans  of  a  socialist  coup  d'etat. 
They  proved  that  Caillaux  also  had  had  dealings  with  Marx. 
They  indicated  that  when  Therese  Duverger  was  caught  with 
Beauquier,  and  it  became  known  that  Lipscher  through  his 
mistress  was  seeking  interviews  with  Caillaux,  Germany  im- 
mediately dropped  Lipscher  and  the  Duverger  woman,  and 
turned  to  Marx. 

Through  Marx  new  lines  were  to  be  established  between 
Paris  and  Berlin,  by  which  official  messages  could  be  carried 
to  Caillaux  and  his  power  again  invoked  in  another  tremen- 
dous drive  for  a  separate  peace.  Germany's  latest  terms 
had  to  be  delivered  into  his  hands  in  a  way,  which  would 
persuade  him  that  they  were  backed  by  the  Kaiser  himself. 

Two  papers  in  Caillaux's  safe  deposit  vault  related  to 
Marx.  One  was  typewritten.  It  read: 

"M.  Lipscher,  as  an  intermediary,  does  not  seem  desirable. 
I  place  myself  at  your  disposal  and  am  authorized  to  establish 
the  communications  which  you  desire." 

The  second  paper  was  in  hand-writing,  and  read: 

"H.  A.  Marx,  in  care  of  Professor  Ersberg,  27  Steiner- 
strasse,  Berne." 

The  signature  was  later  compared  with  that  of  the  Marx, 
who  was  paying  treason  money  to  Duval.  Both  were  identi- 
cally the  same.  Investigation  of  the  activities  of  Professor 
Ersberg  revealed  him  as  one  of  the  most  trusted  publicity 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  147 

agents  of  Germany,  from  whose  pen  emanated  much  of  the 
most  insidious  peace  propaganda,  which  Germany  had  been 
sending  its  press  agents  in  France  and  other  countries. 
Stationed  in  Switzerland,  Professor  Ersberg  kept  in  constant 
touch  with  Berlin. 

When  these  documents  fell  into  the  hands  of  French  offi- 
cials in  Clemenceau's  investigation  of  the  Great  Conspiracy, 
Caillaux  was  asked  for  an  explanation.  In  a  statement  be- 
fore Captain  Bouchardon,  the  ex-Premier  said: 

"Some  time  after  the  attempts  of  Lipscher  to  talk  with  me, 
a  gentleman  asked  me  for  an  appointment  by  telephone.  He 
told  me  that  he  was  a  prominent  Swiss  merchant  and  wished 
to  speak  to  me  about  some  economic  questions  relating  to 
France. 

"I  granted  the  appointment.  The  man  came  to  my  home. 
But  he  had  hardly  entered  my  cabinet,  when  he  handed  me  an 
envelope  containing  the  two  bits  of  paper,  which  are  the 
ones  seized  in  my  deposit  box.  I  at  once  told  the  visitor  to 
leave  my  house." 

"Why  did  you  not  immediately  arrest  the  man  who  came 
to  your  house  to  take  Lipscher's  place?"  questioned  Captain 
Bouchardon. 

"Arrest  him?"  repeated  Caillaux,  as  if  astonished  at  the 
impudence  of  such  a  thought.  "Have  him  arrested  at  once? 
How  could  I  have  done  that?" 

It  was  a  typical  Caillaux  answer. 


CHAPTER 

How  THE  BONNET  ROUGE  BETRAYED  ROUMANIA- 

'Almereyda  Gets  Secret  Government  Reports  Revealing 
Weakness  of  General  Sarraifs  Army  at  Salonika — Has 
Copies  Made  in  Newspaper  Office — He  and  Marion  Go  to 
Spain — German  U-Boat  Lies  in  Wait  at  Carthagina — 
Germany  Attacks  Roumania  Without  Fear  of  Allied  Assist- 
ance— Roumania  Is  Lost 

Caillaux's  connections  with  Marx,  the  enemy  paymaster, 
however,  were  not  discovered  until  the  Bonnet  Rouge  gang 
had  been  operating  a  German  spy  clearing  house  in  the  heart 
of  Paris  for  at  least  three  years. 

If  Caillaux  cautioned  Duval  that  the  Bonnet  Rouge  had 
grown  too  bold,  his  warnings  were  of  no  avail.  The  office  of 
the  newspaper  became  more  and  more  the  headquarters  of 
enemy  agents,  whose  operations  extended  into  nearly  every 
other  European  country  and  even  to  America.  Almereyda 
made  almost  as  many  trips  to  Spain  as  Duval  did  to  Switzer- 
land. During  July  and  August,  1916,  Marion  voyaged  to 
the  United  States.  According  to  the  records  of  the  Paris 
police,  he  tried  to  obtain  the  aid  of  Henry  Ford  in  an  inter- 
national peace  movement. 

In  Spain  the  Germans  were  becoming  more  and  more 
active.  They  were  establishing  various  espionage  and  propa- 
ganda centers,  buying  Spanish  newspapers,  starting  new 
ones,  and  everywhere  they  were  preaching  the  same  gospel 
of  a  false  peace.  Spain  also  proved  to  be  an  especially  good 
asylum  for  spies,  who  learned  that  after  their  operations  in 

148 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  149 

France  they  could  cross  the  Pyrenees  easier  than  the  Alps, 
or  still  better  they  could  report  to  German  submarines 
skulking  along  the  Spanish  coast.  At  Carthegena  the  U 
boats  found  a  particularly  convenient  rendezvous. 

During  the  first  half  of  1916  Germany  was  anxiously 
watching  Roumania.  The  court  at  Bucharest  was  honey- 
combed with  German  agents  following  every  development. 
German  engineers  in  various  disguises  were  measuring  roads 
and  bridges  and  mapping  out  all  other  lines  of  communica- 
tion in  Roumania,  so  that  German  armies  might  strike  a 
sure  blow  as  soon  as  the  Roumanians  declared  war  on  the 
side  of  the  Allies. 

In  France  also  the  Berlin  spy  system  was  at  work  just  as 
assiduously.  In  France  the  particular  purpose  of  Germany's 
inquiry  was  to  learn  what  aid  in  case  of  war  Roumania  could 
get  from  the  Entente.  At  Salonika  an  army  had  been  organ- 
ied  by  the  Allies  for  operations  in  the  Balkans,  and  Germany 
was  using  every  means  to  learn  just  how  these  troops  were 
being  reinforced  and  equipped,  and  what  they  would  be  able 
to  do. 

At  the  head  of  the  French  army  at  Salonika  was  General 
Sarrail,  the  friend  of  Caillaux.  According  to  Caillaux's 
plans  for  a  coup  d'  etat  General  Sarrail  was  to  have  become 
his  Commander-in-Chief. 

In  the  spring  of  191 6,  M.  Paix-Se«.illes,  a  sergeant  in  the 
French  army,  received  from  Captain  Mathieu,  who  had  been 
stationed  in  the  Orient,  a  bundle  of  letters  giving  detailed 
information  concerning  the  strength  and  resources  of  the 
forces  commanded  by  General  Sarrail.  Some  of  the  letters 
contained  secret  military  reports  for  transmission  to  the 
Ministry  of  War  in  Paris.  Other  papers  included  a  com- 
munication from  General  Sarrail  to  M.  Noulens,  President  of 
the  Army  Commission,  and  copies  of  two  telegrams,  one 
from  the  Premier  to  the  French  minister  at  Athens,  for 
transmission  to  General  Sarrail, 


150  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

According  to  Leon  Daudet,  these  papers  were  given  to 
Malvy  who  passed  them  to  Leymarie,  his  assistant,  who 
passed  them  to  Almereyda.  After  Paix-Seailles  had  been 
arrested  he  said  that  he  had  given  them  direct  to  Almereyda. 

At  all  events  they  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Apache 
editor,  who  took  them  to  the  office  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge. 
What  happened  there  is  told  by  Mme.  Lewis,  the  confidential 
stenographer  of  the  inner  office.  Many  months  later  she  was 
called  as  a  witness  and  testified  as  follows : 

"One  morning  in  June,  1916,  M.  Marion  asked  me  to  come 
into  his  office  to  copy  some  documents.  He  said  that  they 
were  for  the  Minister  of  War.  I  remember  that  among  other 
papers  were  three  typewritten  letters  and  a  manuscript  let- 
ter. M.  Marion  also  said  that  he  had  need  of  these  docu- 
ments, because  he  intended  to  go  on  a  journey.  Mile  Louise 
Legendre  will  be  able  to  testify  to  this,  as  she  also  remem- 
bers it."  (Mile.  Legendre  was  another  Bonnet  Rouge  stenog- 
rapher. She  corroborated  Mme.  Lewis  in  every  particular.) 

"Did  you  copy  the  documents?" 

"Yes." 

"Do  you  remember  how  many  copies  you  made?" 

"Three  or  four." 

"You  would  be  able  to  recognize  them?" 

"I  have  already  identified  them  before  Captain  Bouchar- 
don." 

"Did  M.  Marion  shut  you  up  in  a  room?" 

"Yes,  he  shut  me  up,  but  as  soon  as  he  went  away,  I  came 
out  and  I  said  to  the  other  stenographers:  'Marion  has 
given  me  something  to  copy.  He  told  me  not  to  tell  any- 
body.' " 

The  documents  were  laid  before  Mme.  Lewis,  and  she  said : 

"Those  are  the  papers  I  copied."  (They  included  the 
official  communications  of  General  Sarrail  mentioned  above.) 

"Did  M.  Marion  say  where  he  intended  to  go  on  that 
journey?"  Mme.  Lewis  was  asked. 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  151 

"Yes,  he  said  he  was  going  to  Spain  that  night." 

When  Marion  was  examined  two  years  later  and  asked 
how  he  obtained  the  official  documents  of  the  War  Depart- 
ment, he  explained: 

"Almereyda  came  to  me  and  asked,  'Have  you  got  a  good 
stenographer?' 

"I  answered,  'Yes,  Why?'  " 

"  'Well,  here  you  are,'  he  said.  'I  have  a  friend,  also  a 
newspaper  collaborator,  who  has  got  hold  of  some  letters  of 
a  very  confidential  nature  concerning  the  military  situation 
in  Salonika.  The  writing  of  some  of  the  letters  is  almost 
undecipherable.  So  the  Bonnet  Rouge  stenographer  will  not 
copy  them  correctly,  if  she  is  not  a  good  one.  As  you 
say  yours  is  a  capable  girl,  will  you  have  Her  make  some 
copies  ?'  " 

"I  replied,  'Very  well,  I  understand.'  I  did  not  know  any- 
thing about  the  letters.  I  only  took  a  superficial  glance  at 
them.  You  see,  I  was  only  asked  to  have  them  copied.  Well, 
they  were  taken  into  my  office.  As  it  was  quite  a  task,  I 
asked  my  stenographer  who  usually  worked  in  a  place  along- 
side of  the  telephone  switch  board  to  come  into  my  office, 
that  she  might  work  without  being  distracted.  She  did  the 
work  in  about  two  hours,  and  then  I  turned  them  back  im- 
mediately to  Almereyda." 

"Did  you  know  these  papers  contained  military  secrets?" 

"Oh,  no.  I  had  not  the  slightest  idea  that  they  were  secret 
documents." 

"Nevertheless,  you  took  various  precautions.  In  the  first 
place  you  put  this  stenographer  in  your  own  private  office. 
You  told  her  not  to  say  anything  about  the  matter  to  any- 
one, did  you  not?" 

"Exactly,  and  I  will  tell  you  why.  Almereyda  said  to 
me, 

"  'These  are  not  secret  documents,  but  confidential  letters. 
I  intend  to  start  a  crusade  in  behalf  of  the  army  of  Salonika, 


152  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

and  I  would  not  wish  that  they  fall  into  the  hands  of  others 
who  might  use  them  before  I  do.  Furthermore,  I  must  have 
all  these  papers  this  afternoon,  because  I  want  to  give  the 
originals  to  the  Minister  of  War  and  the  copies  to  parle- 
mentarians.' J 

"After  the  papers  were  copied,  what  did  you  do  ?" 
"I  took  them  to  Almereyda  immediately." 
"But,  is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  next  day,  or  the  day  after, 
you  went  with  Almereyda  to  Spain?" 

"It  is  possible  that  I  took  a  trip  the  next  day.  You  see, 
Almereyda  said  to  me  one  day,  that  at  the  end  of  June  or 
the  beginning  of  July,  1916,  the  horse  races  begin  at  San 
Sebastian.  Almereyda  had  an  idea  of  starting  a  sporting 
paper  in  Spain.  He  said,  'I  do  not  know  if  I  will  do  it,  but 
if  you  will  come  with  me,  and  I  decide  to  do  it,  you  will  have 
the  administrative  work  of  it,  the  buying  of  the  paper  and 
handling  the  printing  of  it.' 

"I  ought  to  say  that  Almereyda  told  me  to  get  a  letter  of 
recommendation  to  M.  Merquet,  the  lessee  of  the  Casino  at 
San  Sebastan,  and  also  proprietor  of  the  race  track.  Alme- 
reyda also  spoke  of  a  letter  to  M.  Harmes  or  Hermes,  who 
was,  I  believe,  the  French  consul  at  San  Sebastian.  We 
arrived  at  San  Sebastian  on  a  Monday  or  a  Tuesday  about 
noon.  We  at  once  tried  to  see  M.  Marquet,  but  learned  that 
he  was  in  Madrid.  So  we  returned  to  Paris." 

Such  was  the  story  told  by  Marion,  when  finally  caught  in 
the  trap.  But  during  the  two  years  immediately  following 
this  amazing  performance,  although  he  had  made  copies  of 
the  war  secrets  of  France,  for  which  Germany  would  have 
paid  millions,  and  turned  them  over  to  the  criminal  associate 
of  Malvy  and  Caillaux,  Marion  continued  to  walk  the  streets 
of  Paris,  and  to  travel  about  France  on  various  other  secret 
missions  without  the  slightest  molestation. 

Although  Marion,  in  his  defense,  said  he  went  no  further 
on  this  trip  than  San  Sebastian,  Almereyda  was  found  to 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

have  continued  as  far  as  Carthegena,  where  a  German  U-boat 
had  just  arrived.  Many  months  later  secret  agents  of  the 
Allies  in  Switzerland  and  other  neutral  countries,  who  were 
shadowing  Germany's  agents  and  in  many  instances  working 
with  them  under  various  disguises,  reported  that  Berlin  had 
learned  everything  about  the  French  army  at  Salonika. 
They  said  that  when  Roumania  entered  the  war  on  August 
27,  1916,  the  German  General  Staff  mapped  out  a  counter 
campaign,  which  was  based  in  part  upon  the  very  documents, 
which  were  stolen  by  the  Bonnet  Rouge  gang. 

From  the  official  records  of  the  Third  Counsel  of  War  in 
Paris,  it  can  now  be  stated  that  these  documents  contained 
the  following  information  concerning  General  Sarrail's 
army: 

"Great  scarcity  of  effectives. 

"Lack  of  training  and  coordination. 

"Insufficient  provisions  and  equipment. 

"Inability  to  continue  a  campaign  far  from  the  sea  coast. 

"Inability  to  do  more  than  hold  Bulgaria." 

Accordingly,  the  German  war  preparations  against  Rou- 
mania practically  ignored  Allied  assistance.  What  happened 
to  this  unfortunate  country  is  well  told  in  the  following  pas- 
sages from  Marsh's  "History  of  the  World  War": 

"And  the  worst  fell  upon  hapless  Roumania.  A  vast  force 
of  military  engineers  moving  like  a  human  screen  in  front 
of  von  Mackensen's  army  followed  routes  carefully  mapped 
out  by  German  spies  during  the  period  of  Roumania's  neu- 
trality. Military  bridges,  measured  to  the  inch,  had  been 
prepared  to  carry  cannon,  material  and  men  over  streams 
and  ravines.  Every  Roumanian  oil  well,  mine  and  store 
house  had  been  located  and  mapped.  German  scientists  had 
studied  Roumanian  weather  conditions  and  von  Mackensen 
attacked  while  the  roads  were  at  their  best  and  the  weather 
most  favorable. 

"As  the  Germans  swept  forward,  spies  met  them  and  gave 


154  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

them  military  information  of  the  utmost  value.  A  swarm  of 
airplanes  reported  the  movements  of  the  Roumanians  and 
no  Roumanian  airplanes  rose  to  meet  them. 

"General  von  Falkenhayn,  cooperating  with  von  Macken- 
sen,  smashed  his  way  through  Vulkan  pass,  and  cut  the  main 
line  running  to  Bucharest  at  Craiova.  The  Dobrudja 
region  was  overrun  and  the  central  Rumanian  plain  was 
swept  clear  of  all  Roumanian  opposition  to  the  German 
advance.  The  seat  of  government  was  transferred  from 
Bucharest  to  Jassy  on  November  28,  1916,  and  on  December 
6.  Bucharest  was  'entered  by  von  Mackensen,  definitely  put- 
ting an  end  to  Roumania,  as  a  factor  in  the  war. 

"The  immediate  result  of  the  fall  of  Roumania  was  to 
release  immense  stores  of  petroleum  for  German  use.  British 
and  Roumanian  engineers  had  done  their  utmost  by  the  use 
of  explosives  to  make  useless  the  great  Roumanian  oil  wells, 
but  German  engineers  soon  had  the  precious  fluid  in  full 
flow.  This  furnished  the  fuel  which  Germany  had  long  and 
ardently  desired. 

"The  oil  burning  submarine  now  came  into  its  own.  It 
was  possible  to  plan  a  great  fleet  of  submersibles  to  attempt 
execution  of  von  Tirpitz's  plan  for  unrestricted  submarine 
warfare.  This  was  decided  upon  by  the  German  High  Com- 
mand the  day  Bucharest  fell.  It  was  realized  that  such  a 
policy  would  bring  the  United  States  into  the  war,  but  the 
Kaiser  and  his  advisers  hoped  the  submarine  and  a  great 
western  front  offensive  would  force  a  decision  in  favor  of 
Germany  before  America  could  get  ready." 

In  Lt.  Mornet's  indictment  of  Marion  following  his  arrest 
in  1918,  which  will  be  dealt  with  in  detail  in  Chapter  XIX, 
and  which  is  now  on  file  among  the  other  papers  of  the  Third 
Council  of  War,  there  may  be  found  the  following  passages : 

"Marion  had  his  typist  make  four  copies  of  these  docu- 
ments just  before  he  was  about  to  make  a  trip  to  Spain.  Of 
course  there  is  no  proof  that  Marion  communicated  these 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  155 

documents  to  the  enemy.  But,  it  Is  a  fact  that  one  month  or 
six  weeks  before  unfortunate  Roumania's  entry  into  the  war, 
some  information  of  this  character  was  furnished  the  Bul- 
garian army.  We  were,  at  that  time,  utterly  unable  to  do 
anything  to  help  our  ally." 

Duval  was  in  Switzerland  on  July  8,  and  it  has  been 
alleged  that  he  turned  over  another  copy  of  these  documents 
to  Marx.  In  a  deposition  before  Captain  Bouchardon,  Leon 
Daudet  said: 

"Secret  documents  concerning  the  armies  of  the  Orient 
were  passed  by  M.  Malvy  to  M.  Leymarie,  and  from  the 
latter  to  M.  Paix-Seailks,  who  passed  them  to  Almereyda. 
These  papers  gave  the  reasons  why  an  offensive  by  the 
Allied  armies  at  Salonika  was  at  that  time  impossible.  Alme- 
reyda acted  immediately  and  he  communicated  the  informa- 
tion through  Duval  to  Marx  of  Mannheim,  who  sent  it  to 
Berlin,  which  transmitted  it  to  the  Bulgarians,  who  without 
fear  of  being  attacked  by  General  Sarrail  pounced  down 
upon  the  Roumanians.  The  sad  result  we  all  know." 

The  entire  plot  of  giving  Germany  the  Salonika  army 
secrets  might  have  been  fully  uncovered  in  1916,  had  it  not 
been  for  Malvy.  Here  again  we  find  the  chief  lieutenant  of 
Caillaux  standing  like  a  shield  in  front  of  the  conspirators, 
with  the  result  that  they  continued  to  use  every  possible 
means  to  weaken  France  and  aid  the  enemy. 

The  frequent  trips  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge  gang  to  other 
countries  together  with  stories  that  it  was  in  communication 
with  the  foe  were  brought  to  the  atteniton  of  Premier  Briand 
early  in  1916.  M.  Briand  was  too  busy  to  make  an  investi- 
gation himself,  and  accordingly  he  delegated  the  task  to 
Malvy.  Here  is  Premier  Briand's  statement: 

"At  the  beginning  of  1916  I  discovered  a  positive  change 
in  the  orientation  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge.  I  at  once  sent  for 
M.  Malvy  and  said,  'I  do  not  know  the  relations  which  the 
Minister  of  the  Interior  may  have  with  the  Bonnet  Rouge, 


156  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

but  I  give  you  a  warning,  that  if  it  persists  in  continuing  as 
at  present,  I  shall  take  it  under  surveillance  and  treat  it 
with  severity.  The  censorship  has  strict  orders.  It  will  be 
watched,  suspended  and  probably  suppressed,  if  it  does  not 
change  its  attitude." 

Malvy  said  that  he  would  look  into  the  matter  at  once. 
He  said  later  that  he  stopped  the  government  subsidy  of  the 
Bonnet  Rouge  in  February,  1916.  But  that  was  only  a  few 
weeks  before  the  German  gold  began  to  flow  into  the  news- 
paper through  Marx  and  Duval. 

In  June,  1916,  about  the  time  that  Almereyda  and  Marion 
made  copies  of  General  Sarrail's  papers  and  took  a  trip  to 
Spain,  Premier  Briand  again  became  suspicious.  He  had 
learned  that  Almereyda  was  in  Carthegena  and  Bilboa  at  a 
time  when  a  German  U-boat  was  lying  off  the  Spanish  shore. 
Again  he  called  in  Malvy  and  asked  for  an  explanation. 
Malvy  promised  a  most  searching  inquiry.  Concerning  this 
incident  Premier  Briand  was  questioned  two  years  later,  and 
he  replied: 

"I  invited  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  to  watch  the  people 
connected  with  the  paper  and  particularly  the  trips,  they 
made  abroad.  I  think  I  even  gave  M.  Laurent  (Prefect  of 
Police  in  Paris)  strict  instructions  that  no  passports  be 
given  except  for  good  reasons." 

As  the  issuance  of  all  passports  came  immediately  within 
the  control  of  Malvy,  he  could  have  put  an  instant  stop  to 
the  various  lines  of  communication  which  the  Bonnet  Rouge 
had  established  with  the  enemy,  had  he  so  desired. 

No  person  can  leave  France  without  making  application 
to  the  prefect  of  the  district.  All  the  prefects  are  under 
the  immediate  jurisdiction  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior. 

Again  Malvy  promised  Briand  he  would  make  the  most 
searching  investigation  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge,  of  Almereyda, 
of  Duval  and  all  the  rest.  And  what  happened? 

M.  Dumas,  Chief  of  the  General  Information  Bureau  of 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  157 

the  Prefecture  of  Police,  was  told  to  investigate  Almereyda. 
M.  Dumas  was  the  kind  of  a  subordinate,  whose  conscien- 
ciousness  and  thoroughness  sometimes  get  superiors  into 
trouble.  M.  Dumas  became  greatly  interested  in  Almereyda's 
career.  The  more  he  digged  into  the  Apache's  life,  the  more 
he  delighted  in  digging  still  deeper.  After  a  great  deal  of 
labor,  M.  Dumas  rendered  the  following  report  to  the  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior: 

"Vigo  or  Almereyda  was  born  in  Beziers,  on  January  5, 
18C3,  and  came  to  Paris  in  1899.  He  soon  became  a  thief. 
Finally,  he  was  caught  in  a  robbery,  and  sent  to  prison.  He 
left  prison  at  the  age  of  18  an  anarchist." 

The  crimes  of  Almereyda  from  that  time  on  which  were 
enumerated  by  Dumas,  constitute  much  the  same  list,  as  was 
mentioned  in  Chapter  II.  The  investigator  then  continued: 

"Almereyda  became  a  photographer,  but  he  soon  quit  that 
business.  He  devoted  himself  wholly  to  revolutionary  propa- 
ganda. He  became  secretary  of  the  editorial  staff  of 
Libert aire.  He  was  delegate  in  1904  to  the  anarchist  con- 
gress in  Amsterdam,  and  one  of  the  signers  of  the  famous 
antimilitaristic  poster,  entitled,  'To  the  Soldiers,'  which  also 
had  the  signature  of  Gustave  Herve.  With  Herve  he  founded 
Guerre  Saddle  (Social  War),  of  which  until  1913  he  was 
the  secretary  of  the  editorial  staff. 

"During  the  legislative  elections  of  1910,  he  founded  a 
the  rabid  Groupe  Antiparlementaire  (Antiparlementarian 
Group)  and  became  very  active  in  the  XVIIIth  arrondisse- 
ment.  He  created  the  'Association  of  the  Young  Revolu- 
tionary Guards'  for  the  purpose  of  breaking  up  the  meetings 
of  rivals. 

"In  1912  he  gave  his  support  to  the  Unified  Socialist 
Party,  and  the  following  year  he  left  Guerre  Soc'nale  to 
enter  the  Courrier  Europcen  (European  Courier)  of  Paix- 
Seailles,  (who  later  gave  him  the  army  secrets  of  General 


158  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Sarrail)  and  finally  on  November  23,  1913,  he  founded  the 
Bonnet  Rouge,  thanks  to  the  financial  help  of  M.  Caillaux. 

"Here  is  to  be  found  the  second  political  evolution  of 
Almereyda,  who  became  a  Radical  Socialist  (the  same  as 
Caillaux),  as  director  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge.  This  change  of 
opinion  had  its  effect  even  on  the  personality  of  Almereyda. 
Until  then  he  was  always  hard  up  and  seedy  looking.  He 
now  became  more  elegant.  He  began  to  frequent  the  expen- 
sive establishments  of  the  grand  boulevards,  where  he  entered 
into  relations  with  shady  financiers,  journalists  lying  in  wait 
for  scandals,  and  certain  individuals,  who  by  various  under- 
hand means  establish  connections  between  captains  of  high 
finance  and  politicians. 

"Nevertheless,  until  April,  1915,  he  maintained  only  a 
modest  home,  at  a  rental  of  only  500  francs. 

"However,  by  the  end  of  June,  1915,  he  established  himself 
in  a  furnished  apartment  at  No.  51  Rue  Spontini,  at  a 
monthly  rental  of  740  francs,  where  he  lived  for  several 
months  with  two  mistresses,  one  named  Claro  Emilie,  the 
other,  Berni  Leonie,  also  known  as  Emilienne  Brevannes,  who 
was  born  in  1895  at  Poissy.  Although  she  had  had  relations 
with  Almereyda  since  January,  1915,  Emilienne  Brevannes 
has  kept  her  former  apartment  at  No.  50  Rue  Condorcet, 
at  an  annual  rental  of  500  francs. 

"Since  the  month  of  April,  1917,  Almereyda  has  advertised 
his  wealth  in  most  insolent  fashion.  He  installed  Mile.  Berni 
at  No.  24  Boulevard  des  Capucines,  in  an  apartment  for 
which  he  pays  600  francs  a  month.  He  also  leases  a  villa 
at  No.  14  Rue  Gustav  Latour,  St.  Cloud,  which  costs  him 
10,000  francs  a  year.  He  has  also  bought  an  estate  at 
Juan  les  Pins,  in  the  Maritime  Alps. 

"He  is  buying  all  kinds  of  luxuries.  For  example  on  one 
occasion  he  bought  some  jewelry  for  the  Berni  girl,  whioh 
cost  50,000  francs. 

"Some  attribute  his  sudden  fortune  to  the  largesses  of 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  159 

political  friends,  of  financiers,  of  war  contractors,  who  might 
have  recourse  under  diverse  covers  to  the  services  of  Alme- 
reyda.  Others  call  special  attention  to  the  evolution  of  the 
Bonnet  Rouge,  which  has  changed  its  note  and  has  joined  the 
minority  socialists,  of  the  Kienthal  shade,  almost  as  much  as 
letting  it  be  known  that  the  money,  which  he  dispenses  so 
extravagantly,  comes  from  Germany. 

"It  is  said  in  some  newspaper  offices  that  Almereyda  may 
have  received  large  commissions  by  acting  as  an  intermediary 
between  the  sub-secretary  of  munitions  and  M.  Raffalovitch, 
secretary  general  of  the  Bank  of  Commerce  of  Petrograd, 
who  has  charge  of  military  supplies." 

The  report  of  M.  Dumas  spoke  also  of  Almereyda's  asso- 
ciates, Goldsky,  Marion,  Jacques  Lathuille,  who  peddled 
betting  tips  at  the  race  track,  and  who  in  1904  became  editor 
of  the  Radical,  from  which  he  was  afterward  discharged ; 
Alexandre  Raffalovitch,  Rabbat,  a  convicted  swindler,  who 
has  been  associated  with  the  famous  Zucco  in  various  enter- 
prises ;  Napoleon  Poggiale,  lessee  of  a  gambling  house  many 
times  condemned  for  violating  Article  210  of  the  Penal  Code; 
Bontempi,  called  Bontemps,  former  editor  of  Libertaire,  and 
four  times  convicted;  Sophie  Franckel,  a  woman,  who  had  a 
house  of  ill  repute  at  No.  17  Rue  de  Hamburg,  and  Mme. 
Stourmier,  a  mid-wife,  who  sold  narcotics.  Dumas  also  said: 

"Almereyda  tried  to  induce  men  of  standing  to  carry  let- 
ters which  the  pacifists  did  not  wish  to  trust  to  the  mails. 
Almereyda  undertook  to  furnish  them  with  the  necessary 
papers  and  passports. 

"Among  the  persons  supposed  to  have  accomplished  a 
mission  of  this  sort  was  Henri  Guilbeaux.  He  is  said  to  have 
come  to  Paris  twice  with  papers.  This  same  man  facilitated 
the  escape  of  Gilbert,  the  aviator,  when  he  made  two  visits 
to  Switzerland. 

"By  an  indirect  route,  but  quite  a  sure  one,  it  is  further 
known  that  Marion,  the  administrator  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge, 


160  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

went  to  Detroit,  U.  S.,  to  obtain  the  financial  assistance  of 
M.  Ford,  M.  Archdeacon  and  other  persons,  more  or  less 
interested  in  the  international  movement  for  peace. 

(E.  G.  Liebold,  secretary  of  Henry  Ford,  in  reply  to  an 
inquiry  regarding  Marion's  trip  said:  "Mr.  Ford  does  not 
recall  ever  having  met  the  parties  mentioned  and  we  assume 
therefore  their  intended  mission  was  not  carried  out.") 

"Towards  the  15th  of  June,  Almereyda's  valet,  called 
Rafael,  received  a  telegram  from  Spain,  calling  him  to  the 
bedside  of  his  father.  Two  days  later,  Almereyda,  who  was 
preparing  to  join  his  mistress,  who  was  spending  her  season 
at  Dole,  at  the  home  of  the  under-prefect  of  the  town,  re- 
ceived a  telegram  from  Spain  also.  He  immediately  asked 
for  a  passport,  which  he  obtained  on  June  20,  1916.  Its 
number  was  11704.  According  to  his  friends,  Almereyda 
went  to  Carthegena  with  a  Harry  Thomas. 

"On  June  21,  the  day  after  Almereyda  left  Paris,  the  Ger- 
man submarine,  U  35,  entered  the  port  of  Carthegena  for  a 
sojourn  and  the  director  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge  is  reported  to 
have  remained  near." 

And  what  did  Malvy  do  with  this  report?  The  answer 
may  be  found  in  the  following  statement  of  Dumas,  which 
later  became  a  court  record : 

"On  September  7,  1916,  I  was  called  to  the  office  of  the 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  received  by  M.  Malvy.  He 
said:  *I  have  just  read  your  report.  There  is  nothing  very 
much  in  it,  nothing  very  much.  I  have  just  seen  Almereyda. 
I  have  just  seen  the  poor  fellow.  He  came  to  my  house, 
suffering,  ill.  I  asked  him  some  clever  questions.  He  pro- 
tested vigorously.  He  denied  absolutely  that  his  money  came 
from  such  sources,  as  reported.' 

"I  was  quite  excited.  I  said  to  M.  Malvy:  'Have  you 
communicated  my  report  to  Almereyda?  Have  you  told 
everything  to  him,  Mr.  Minister?' 

"  'No,  I  just  asked  some  cunning  questions,*  replied  M. 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  161 

Malvy.  'There  are  a  lot  of  things  to  be  verified,  you  know. 
As  it  is,  your  report  does  not  prove  much  to  me.  To  my 
questions  Almereyda  offered  explanations.  He  said  for  in- 
stance that  the  automobiles,  which  he  was  driving,  came  from 
a  garage,  which  he  owned  in  the  Boulevard  Pereire,  and  that 
the  money  of  which  you  speak  had  been  furnished  him  by 
M.  Boulet,  a  wine  merchant,  to  indemnify  him  for  a  cam- 
paign in  behalf  of  the  wine  trade.  He  said  he  had  also  re- 
ceived from  M.  Francfort  50,000  francs  (excuse  its  being  so 
little).  He  said  he  had  secured  an  important  order  for  M. 
Francfort  from  the  Ministry  of  Munitions.  No,  there  is 
nothing  in  your  report  of  any  consequence.' ' 

Dumas  nevertheless  made  a  second  report  on  September 
18,  of  which  he  said : 

"My  assertions  were  verified  and  proved  absolutely  cor- 
rect. My  second  report  confirmed  my  first  report.  I  pre- 
sented it  to  the  office  of  the  Prefect  of  Police,  who  doubtless 
transmitted  it  to  M.  Malvy.  I  never  heard  any  more 
about  it." 

Poor  Dumas. 

His  work  was  all  for  nought.  Both  his  reports  were 
pigeonholed  in  Malvy's  desk. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

MME.  POZZOLI'S  TELL  TALE  DIARY 

Reveals  Caillau&'s  Conferences  with  Cavallini,  Enemy  Agent 
and  Briber — The  Luncheon  at  Lame's — CaiLlaux's  Italian 
Journey — His  Plans  of  a  Latin  Alliance — His  Gospel  of 
Dispair  and  Defeat — Yagghen,  Another  Oriental  Pacifier 

In  the  autumn  of  1916,  Caillaux  thought  he  saw  another 
opportunity  to  ascend  to  power.  He  believed  that  the 
Briand  ministry  was  tottering.  He  thought  he  could  stir 
up  in  Italy  enough  hatred  toward  England  to  create  the 
Latin  Alliance  of  which  he  had  dreamed  so  long,  an  alliance 
that  would  later  include  Spain,  and  merge  its  interests  with 
those  of  the  Central  Powers.  This  plan  of  course  would  re- 
sult in  throwing  upon  the  British  Empire  the  whole  brunt  of 
the  war. 

In  October,  1916,  Caillaux  went  to  Italy  and  met  his  wife 
at  Monti  Cafini.  From  there  they  went  to  Florence  and 
thence  to  Rome.  Leaving  his  wife  in  Rome,  he  returned  to 
Paris. 

And  now  who  should  enter  the  scene  but  Cavallini,  the 
Italian  associate  of  ex-Khedive  Abbas  Hilmi;  Cavallini,  the 
agent  of  Germany;  Cavallini,  who  carried  1,000,000  francs 
of  German  bribe  money  to  Bolo's  Paris  home.  Behind  Caval- 
lini in  this  ijew  plot  was  not  only  Abbas  Hilmi  but  another 
oriental  traitor,  Yagghen  Pacha,  a  cousin  of  the  Khedive. 
Yagghen  had  married  a  Mme.  Lussato,  an  Italian  lady,  and 
had  made  his  home  in  Italy.  Proof  was  later  obtained  by  the 
Italian  authorities,  that  Yagghen  had  spent  about  1,000,000 

162 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  163 

francs  in  efforts  to  bribe  Italian  statesmen  and  the  Italian 
press  to  advocate  an  immediate  peace. 

It  was  this  same  propaganda  among  the  Italian  troops 
which  resulted  in  the  Caporetto  disaster  in  October,  1917, 
when  the  Italian  line  was  broken  by  a  great  Austrian-German 
attack  and  thrown  back  toward  the  Piave. 

On  October  2,  1916,  Cavallini  and  a  woman,  named  Mme. 
Pozzoli,  came  to  Paris  and  established  themselves  in  a  sump- 
tuously furnished  apartment.  As  it  later  developed,  much  to 
the  mortification  of  all  concerned,  Mme.  Pozzoli  kept  a  diary. 
Within  its  little  pages  she  loved  to  record  all  the  petty  hap- 
penings of  the  day,  the  dates  of  tea  parties,  the  names  of 
guests, — how  they  looked,  what  they  said.  Now  and  then 
she  used  abbreviations  and  various  cryptic  phrases,  as  if  she 
did  not  dare  trust  everything  to  paper. 

Cavallini  and  Mme.  Pozzoli  remained  in  Paris  until  No- 
vember 22,  1916,  and  during  that  time  the  Italian  visitor 
gave  several  dinners  and  luncheons,  which  might  easily  have 
convinced  those  of  his  guests  who  did  not  know  his  real  mis- 
sion, that  he  was  the  great  financier,  which  he  publicly  pre- 
tended to  be. 

At  one  of  these  luncheons  Cavallini  met  Caillaux.  The 
guests  were  brought  together  in  a  private  chamber  in  the 
famous  Restaurant  Larue  in  the  Place  de  la  Madeleine.  Ac- 
cording to  a  speech  which  Caillaux  made  more  than  a  year 
later,  on  Dec.  22,  1917,  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  Caval- 
lini was  introduced  to  him  at  Larue's  by  Loustalot,  a  fellow 
deputy.  Caillaux's  eleventh  hour  explanation  was  as  follows : 

"One  day  I  met  my  old  collague,  Loustalot,  in  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies.  He  said  he  wanted  me  to  take  dejeuner  with  him 
and  meet  an  Italian,  who  desired  to  talk  banking.  'Very 
well,'  I  said,  1  will  be  glad  to  see  him,  although  I  am  not  a 
banker.' 

"I  went  with  M.  Loustalot.  I  met  M.  Cavallini  and  sev- 
eral others.  We  all  had  dejeuner  together.  Our  conversa- 


164  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

tion  was  most  desultory.  We  discussed  politics  for  a  while. 
The  early  accession  of  the  Orlando  ministry  was  predicted. 
There  was  talk  of  founding  a  newspaper  in  Rome,  to  be 
called  the  Paris-Rome,  and  I  declared  the  scheme  to  be 
chimerical.  Finally,  I  was  consulted  about  the  bank.  They 
told  me  that  the  best  names  would  be  found  in  the  board  of 
directors — and  that  M.  Salandra,  former  Premier  of  Italy, 
would  head  the  list. 

"I  replied,  'Boards  of  Directors  sound  well,  but  what  is 
wanted  for  a  bank  is  business.  Have  you  any  customers,  and 
who  are  they?'  Some  names  were  mentioned — the  Genoa 
Tramways  and  the  Anvaldo  Company,  both  well  known,  and 
the  Roman  R.  R.  which  is  less  known. 

"I  left  the  restaurant  with  the  impression  that  I  had  been 
lunching  with  a  particularly  interesting  man.  A  few  days 
later,  Loustalot  came  to  me  again  and  said: 

"  'M.  Cavallini  is  returning  to  Rome,  where  your  wife  is. 
Do  you  wish  to  give  him  a  note  to  her?'  I  answered: 

"  'No,  I  will  write  my  wife  that  M.  Cavallini  will  call  to 
see  her.  She  will  receive  him,  if  she  thinks  it  advisable  to 
do  so.  But  I  promise  nothing,  because  she  wishes  to  preserve 
the  strictest  incognito. 

"I  wrote  Mme.  Caillaux,  as  follows:  'Here  is  a  person 
introduced  to  me  by  my  friend  Loustalot,  in  whom  I  have  the 
fullest  confidence.  I  have  no  further  information  about  him. 
If  you  can  get  any,  do  so.  At  any  rate  do  not  receive  him, 
if  you  have  any  objection.' ' 

Whether  or  not  Caillaux  and  Cavallini  talked  about  bank- 
ing or  a  separate  peace,  they  established  a  relationship  at  the 
Larue  luncheon,  which  soon  became  exceedingly  intimate. 

The  diary  of  Mme.  Pozzoli,  which  the  Italian  police  seized 
many  months  later,  showed  that  she  and  Cavallini  went  to 
visit  Mme.  Caillaux,  as  soon  as  they  reached  the  Italian 
capital,  and  that  Mme.  Caillaux  accepted  their  friendship. 
Nearly  every  day  Mme.  Caillaux  called  upon  Cavallini  and 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  165 

Mme.  Pozzoli  or  they  visited  her.  Finally,  when  M.  Caillaux, 
himself,  arrived  in  Rome,  Cavallini  and  the  Pozzoli  woman 
gave  M.  and  Mme.  Caillaux  a  special  reception.  The  story 
is  told  in  Mme.  Pozzoli's  diary,  as  follows: 

"December  2,  ...  Philippe  (Cavallini)   returns " 

"December  3,  ...  after  luncheon,  visit  to  Mme.  C's." 
(Mme.  Caillaux.) 

"December  4,  ...  invitation  to  dinner  from  Henriette 
C."  (Mme.  Caillaux's  maiden  name  was  Henriette  Ray- 
nouard.) 

"December  7,  ...  gave  dinner  to  Mme.  C.,  where  are 
present  also  the  Prince  Sciarra,  Ricardi  and  others." 

"December  9,  ...  we  all  go  to  see  the  film,  Christus.  .  .  ." 
"December  11,  ...  arrival  and  reception  for  M.  Caillaux." 
"December  13, ..  .promenade  at  Frascati  with  the  Cail- 
laux couple.  .  .  ." 

"December  15,  .  .  .  dinner  to  the  Caillaux  couple.  .  .  ." 
"December  17 — Luncheon  at  Castello  di  Cesari  with  Cail- 
laux and  Riccardi .  .  .  . " 

"December  18,  .  .  .  departure  of  M.  Caillaux  for  Naples." 

Between  December  18,  1916,  and  January  5,  1917,  Cail- 
laux was  in  Naples  and  elsewhere  in  Italy  pleading  with 
various  Italian  statesmen  and  financiers  to  work  for  an  im- 
mediate peace.  Meantime  Cavallini  confered  with  Loustalot, 
Abbas  Hilmi  and  Yagghen  Pacha  in  various  places  of  ren- 
dezvous. After  this  interval,  Mme.  Pozzoli's  diary  con- 
tinues : 

January  5,  1917,  Caillaux  arrived  in  Rome  2  p.  m.  Wife 
joined  him  by  following  train.  Cavallini  invited  Caillaux 
couple  to  dinner  at  the  Valiani. 

January  6,  Caillaux  couple  have  dinner  at  the  apartments 
of  Mme.  Pozzoli. 


166  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

January  7,  Caillaux  couple  have  dinner  at  San  Carlo  with 
Mme.  Pczzoli.  At  10  p.  m.  Caillaux  left  Rome  for  Paris. 

Mme.  Caillaux  remained  behind  in  Italy  until  February  4. 
She  continued  to  live  at  the  Hotel  de  Russie,  where  Mme. 
Pozzoli  was  also  to  be  seen  almost  daily,  going  and  coming 
from  the  Caillaux  apartments. 

Caillaux  had  made  this  propagandist  trip  to  Italy,  with 
such  secrecy  that  even  his  most  intimate  friends  in  Paris 
knew  nothing  of  it.  His  passport  had  been  made  out  in  the 
name  of  Joseph  Raynouard. 

Having  arrived  in  Rome  and  established  connections  with 
Cavallini,  Bolo's  paymaster,  Caillaux  began  the  most  vigor- 
ous campaign  for  a  separate  peace  between  Italy  and  France 
on  the  one  hand  and  Germany,  Austria,  Bulgaria,  and  Tur- 
key on  the  other.  In  this  connection  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  Italy  did  not  formally  declare  war  on  Germany 
until  August  28,  1916,  or  only  four  months  before  Caillaux's 
visit. 

Caillaux  talked  with  as  many  of  the  most  influential  Italian 
statesmen,  as  he  thought  he  could  convert,  and  said  that 
France  was  almost  bled  to  death,  that  Germany  could  not  be 
conquered,  that  the  only  salvation  for  either  France  or  Italy 
was  peace. 

Proof  that  Caillaux's  Italian  trip  was  one  of  his  most  dar- 
ing 'efforts  to  disrupt  the  Entente  has  been  obtained  from 
Signor  Ferdinando  Martini,  formerly  A  minister  (in  the 
cabinet  of  Salandra,  who  had  a  long  interview  with  Caillaux. 
In  a  sworn  statement,  which  he  made  at  the  treason  trial  of 
Cavallini  in  Rome,  Martini  completely  unmasked  Caillaux. 
An  English  translation  of  Signor  Martini's  deposition  made 
by  Walter  Littlefield  of  the  New  York  Times  with  various 
bracketed  notes  by  Mr.  Littlefield,  that  are  especially  illu- 
minating and  instructive,  reads  as  follows : 

"Dec.  17, 1916. — I  have  just  left  Caillaux  after  my  inter- 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  167 

view  and  I  would  not  miss  a  moment  before  setting  it  down. 
The  subject  first  taken  was,  quite  naturally,  the  overture 
from  Germany.  [Note  from  Germany  and  her  allies  dated 
Dec.  12  offering  to  enter  peace  negotiations.]  We  agreed 
that  to  «nd  the  matter  by  refusing  to  negotiate  would  con- 
stitute a  rather  serious  political  blunder — if  any  reply  were 
made  at  all. 

"He  [Caillaux]  expressed  himself  as  believing  that  the 
moment  for  peace  had  not  yet  arrived,  and  that  a  final  effort 
would  be  made  in  the  Spring  [Nivelle's  offensive  in  Cham- 
pagne], but  that  it  would  be  to  indulge  in  the  most  fatal 
illusions  to  imagine  that  the  war  could  last  until  the  Autumn 
of  next  year. 

"France  [Caillaux  said]  had  already  lost  1,500,000  men — 
1,100,000  dead  and  400,000  mutilated  or  so  seriously 
wounded  as  to  be  incapable  of  following  any  profession  or 
trade  whatever.  Nobody,  broadly  speaking,  believed  that 
the  Germans  could  be  driven  out  of  the  ten  departments 
they  occupied;  the  resources  in  men  remaining  to  France 
were  the  1917  class,  numbering  200,000  men,  and  the  1918 
class,  making  150,000  men  more.  They  would  only  suffice 
to  fill  up  the  gaps  caused  by  losses,  and  France,  therefore, 
could  put  on  the  front  not  more  than  2,500,000  men,  possibly 
not  so  many. 

"The  spirit  of  the  public  was  depressed,  (deprime)  and  the 
former  enthusiasm  among  the  soldiers  was  dead.  He  had 
received  letters  from  soldiers  whose  homes  were  in  his  own 
constituency  which  left  no  doubt  as  to  the  state  of  mind  of 
the  troops,  and  those  letters,  like  those  received  by  others, 
ended  with  'Down  with  the  war !'  and  even  'Long  live  Brizon  1' 
[Brizon  was  a  Deputy  who  had  been  expelled  from  the  Cham- 
ber for  expressing  defeatist  sentiments.] 

"He  [Caillaux]  said  he  knew  Italy,  and  knew  that  the 
state  of  public  feeling  here  was  not  very  different  from  that 
in  France,  although  it  was  perhaps  different  among  the  sol- 


168  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

diers,  because  Italy  had  been  a  year  less  in  the  war  than 
France. 

"I  informed  Caillaux  that  it  had  been  reported  that  Ger- 
many was  inclined  to  make  concessions  to  the  noninsular 
Western  powers — France  and  Italy — and  that  there  were 
even  persons  who  asserted  that  the  crisis  then  existing  in 
the  Austrian  Government  was  due  to  this  fact,  as  Korber 
[Dr.  von  Korber,  Austrian  Premier,  who  that  very  day — 
Dec.  17,  1916 — had  been  succeeded  by  Herr  von  Spitz- 
muller]  had  resigned  because  he  would  not  assume  the  respon- 
ibility  for  the  territorial  concessions  to  be  made  to  Italy. 

"Caillaux  knew  nothing  of  these  reports,  but  thought  he 
ought  to  take  them  into  consideration,  and  he  asserted  that 
he  also  believed  that  both  Germany  and  Austria,  the  latter 
being  entirely  dominated  by  the  former,  were  disposed  to 
make  concessions  to  Italy  and  France.  As  to  France,  he  said 
he  believed  that  peace  could  be  made  on  very  simple  condi- 
tions— namely,  the  evacuation  of  the  occupied  departments 
and  the  cession  of  a  part  of  Lorraine,  and  perhaps  even 
without  the  latter. 

"  'And  do  you  not  fear,'  I  asked,  'that  they  will  ask  you 
to  surrender  Morocco?' 

"  'We  could  not  give  it  up  at  any  price,'  he  responded. 
'We  could  not  have  Germany  in  a  position  to  stab  us  in  the 
back.  Germany  understands  this  and  will  not  press  her  de- 
mands so  far  as  that.  She  is  not  in  a  very  good  position 
herself,  and  her  proposals  are  certainly  owing  to  her  own 
condition  and  the  famine  which  threatens  her.' 

"  'But  do  you  really  think  that  France  would  make  peace 
under  the  conditions  you  mention?' 

"She  could  not  [said  Caillaux]  do  anything  else.  Our 
output  of  munitions  has  gone  down  through  lack  of  raw  ma- 
terials. And  there  are  two  facts  of  special  importance  con- 
cerning which  you  are  in  ignorance — Algeria  is  teeming  with 
revolution  and  so  is  Senegal.  The  Prefect  of — (Caillaux 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  169 

mentioned  the  name  of  the  place,  but  I  have  forgotten  it)  has 
been  murdered.  A  detachment  of  soldiers  sent  to  put  down 
the  revolt  has  been  surrounded  and  massacred.  All  this  be- 
cause we  committed  the  monstrous  blunder  of  imposing  con- 
scription on  the  Arabs. 

"Add  to  this  the  work  of  the  Socialists,  less  important 
than  in  Italy,  but  still,  effective,  and  the  hatred  of  the  peas- 
ants for  the  war. 

'I  repeat  [said  Caillaux]  that  we  cannot  do  anything  more, 
and  that  peace  which  would  be  premature  today  will  in- 
evitably be  necessary  in  the  Autumn.  To  this  must  be  joined 
the  fact  that  in  the  Autumn,  owing  to  the  losses  which  the 
Spring  will  cost  us,  we  risk  having  in  France  a  British  army 
numerically  superior  to  our  own,  and  that  we  can  not  and 
do  not  want. 

"For  many  other  reasons  Caillaux  saw  an  obvious  necessity 
— that  France  and  Italy  must  be  united  by  indissoluble  bonds 
of  sincere  friendship  and  unshakable  solidarity,  both  now  and 
after  the  war,  and  he  urged  that  it  was  desirable  to  bring 
Spain  into  the  Latin  League. 

"  'Spain  is  pro-German,'  I  remarked.  'The  King  of  Spain 
has  stated:  "Those  favorable  to  the  Entente  in  Spain  com- 
prise only  myself  and  the  rabble." 

"  'I  have  it,'  Caillaux  replied.  'I  have  expressed  one  wish : 
The  all-important  thing  is  a  close  and  loyal  union  of  our 
two  countries.  We  shall  easily  come  to  an  agreement,  even 
in  regard  to  customs  questions.  We  produce  commodities 
that  Italy  does  not,  and  Italy  produces  commodities  that  we 
do  not.  There  are  only  two  real  questions,  two  common 
products — silk  and  wine.  These  dre  not  insoluble  problems 
when  paramount  interests  demand  their  solution.' 

"  'That  is  all  very  well,'  I  rejoined,  'but  let  us  come  back 
to  the  question  of  peace.  What  about  England?  We  are 
bound  to  England  by  the  Pact  of  London.'  [The  Treaty  of 
London  signed  April  26,  1915,  by  England,  France,  Italy, 


170  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

and  Russia,  according  to  the  terms  of  which  Italy  declared 
war  on  Austria-Hungary  on  the  23d  of  the  following  May.) 

"England,  [said  Caillaux,]  when  she  has  obtained  the  re- 
construction of  Belgium,  will  accommodate  herself  to  making 
peace.  The  submarines  are  destroying  her  merchant  marine. 
Moreover,  among  the  English  people  also  there  are  many, 
even  innumerable,  opponents  of  the  war.  I  do  not  overlook 
the  fact,  however,  that  if  Germany  demands  the  return  of  her 
colonies  England  neither  would  nor  could  consent." 

"'And  Russia?' 

"Russia  [said  Caillaux]  will  have  to  pay.  She  has  lost 
Poland.  As  to  giving  her  Constantinople,  would  either  you 
or  ourselves  agree  to  that?  [This  was  before  the  Russian 
revolution,  March  14,  1917,  and  the  Bolshevist  coup  d'etat, 
Nov.  7,  1917.] 

"  'We  have  promised  it  to  her.' 

"That  promise  is  older  than  you  think,"  said  Caillaux. 
"It  was  made  by  M.  Poincare  when  he  went  to  Petrograd  as 
Premier.  He  aimed  at  becoming  President  of  the  Republic, 
and,  to  insure  his  success,  he  wanted  the  votes  of  the  Right 
in  the  Chamber.  M.  Isvolsky,  the  Russian  Ambassador  at 
Paris,  had  the  power  of  securing  these  votes  for  him.  I 
need  not  say  anything  more." 

[Note — A  highly  placed  French  political  personage,  fully 
acquainted  with  all  the  negotiations  before  and  during  the 
war,  has  declared  the  statement  in  regard  to  President  Poin- 
care to  be  groundless.  The  assertion  had  been  spread  broad- 
cast in  the  Chamber  during  the  first  years  of  the  war.  "It 
was  the  work  of  M.  Caillaux,"  says  Le  Matin,  "who  carried 
on  a  systematic  campaign  against  the  President  of  the  Re- 
public. M.  Poincare  never  at  any  time  promised  Constanti- 
nople to  Russia  but  supported  a  contrary  policy  when  he 
was  at  the  Quai  d'Orsay.  The  Foreign  Affairs  Commissions 
of  the  two  Chambers  have  long  ago  been  well  informed  on  the 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  171 

subject,  and  not  one  word  of  truth  remained  in  this  assertion 
of  M.   CaiUaux."] 

"  'Referring  to  M.  Poincare,'  I  asked,  "is  it  true  that  he 
is  unpopular  in  France?' ' 

"Unpopular?"  [said  Caillaux,]  "Say,  rather,  detested." 

"  'And  what  do  you  forsee  in  regard  to  the  Ministerial 
situation  ?' 

"I  foresee  a  coming  crisis.  Briand  (then  Premier)  has  lost 
all  authority.  He  is  not  a  man  who  looks  far  ahead.  He 
looks  for  momentary,  immediate  successes  and  does  not 
bother  about  anything  else.  It  was  he  more  than  anybody 
who  pushed  Roumania  into  the  conflict  without  taking  into 
consideration  the  necessary  help,  in  the  absence  of  which  it 
was  easy  to  foresee  all  that  has  happened.  This  time  also 
he  has  sought  Parliamentary  success  without  considering  the 
consequences  of  his  false  and  premature  steps. 

"If  Briand  fails  France  has  only  three  possible  Premiers — 
Clemenceau,  Caillaux,  and  Barthou.  Barthou  is  practically 
impossible,  because  he  has  thrown  himself  into  the  arms  of  the 
reactionary  Clericals.  During  the  first  year  of  the  war  the 
Clericals  appeared  likely  to  enable  Barthou  to  triumph.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  present  year  these  forces  began  to  de- 
cline, and  for  some  months  have  become  very  weak,  and  are 
now  certainly  impotent. 

"Not  Barthou,  therefore.  For  Caillaux  the  time  is  not  yet 
come.  There  remains  only  Clemenceau."  [Mr.  Clemenceau 
became  Premier  Nov.  13,  1917.] 

"  'But  is  it  possible  to  reconcile  Clemenceau  as  Premier 
with  Poincare  as  President  of  the  Republic?' 

"That  is  precisely  the  question  which  must  be  asked,  [said 
Caillaux.]  If  things  turn  out  as  appears  likely,  either  Clem- 
enceau or  Poincare  will  go.  For  this  reason  I  doubt  whether 
the  next  Ministry  will  be  a  Clemenceau  Cabinet,  and  for  want 
of  anything  better  we  shall  have  a  Painleve  Cabinet,  [M. 
Painleve  became  Premier  in  September,  Ribot  having  sue- 


172  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

ceeded  M.  Briand  in  the  preceding  March,]  with  a  program 
of  war  to  the  death,  which  will  make  the  great  Spring  offen- 
sive, after  which  will  come  the  Ministry  which  will  make  the 
arrangement  for  peace. 

"As  I  remained  silent  for  some  minutes  after  this  declara- 
tion, Caillaux  asked  me  what  I  was  thinking  about. 

"  'About  your  certitude  as  to  peace — England — Russia.' 

"I  repeat,  [said  Caillaux.]  England  will  consent.  Lloyd 
George  will  make  another  great  effort.  Asquith  is  in  reserve, 
watching  events.  As  to  Russia,  she  will  turn  herself  toward 
Asia  when  she  has  conquered  the  revolution,  which  everybody, 
including  the  Russian  Government,  expects.  In  any  case, 
nobody  can  be  asked  to  do  the  impossible. 

"We  are  exhausted,  and  nobody  can  insist  on  our  con- 
tinuing the  struggle  when  we  lack  men  and  materials,  and  the 
only  result  will  be  useless  massacres." 

Caillaux  finally  became  so  bold  in  his  pacifist  propaganda 
in  Italy,  that  M.  Camille  Barrere,  the  French  Ambassador  at 
Rome,  deemed  it  his  duty  to  make  a  special  report  to  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  in  Paris.  Some  of  Caillaux's 
statements  to  the  Italians  were  found  to  be  so  anti-English, 
so  pro-German,  so  pregnant  with  defeatism  of  the  most  per- 
fidious sort,  that  the  embassies  of  all  the  Allies  at  Rome  were 
notified.  As  a  result  Italy  was  about  to  ask  him  to  leave  the 
country,  when  suddenly  he  learned  that  his  operations  had 
become  known  to  the  French  government,  and  hurried  home. 

After  Caillaux  was  safely  back  in  Paris,  the  French  foreign 
office  obtained  fuller  reports  concerning  Yagghen  Pacha,  the 
oriental  associate  of  Cavallini.  Yagghen  had  been  arrested 
in  Italy,  but  released  because  of  protests  that  his  territorial 
rights  had  been  violated.  Among  the  papers  of  Yagghen, 
was  the  copy  of  a  letter  to  Cavillini,  saying : 

"Briefly  speaking,  we  must  do  here  the  work  which 
should  have  been  done  in  France.  We  have  all  the  necessary 
elements,  and  will  be  able  to  provoke  demonstrations  in  all 
cities." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

CAUGHT 

The  Bonnet  Rouge  Gets  Money  from  Marx  by  New  Route — 
The  Handy  Vercasson — Malvy  Keeps  Censor  at  Bay — 
Goldsky,  Bolshevik  Editor,  in  Malvy's  Office — The  Om- 
niscient "Gen.  N." — Duval's  New  Brood  of  R,eptiles — 
DuvaVs  Last  Trip  to  Switzerland — The  Fatal  150,000 
Frame  Check — Barres  Unclosets  a  Ghost  Which  Points  at 
Malvy 

Before  Duval  obtained  the  renewal  of  his  passport,  the 
Bonnet  Rouge  was  forced  to  find  another  channel  between  its 
vaults  and  the  vaults  of  Marx  in  Switzerland.  The  money 
had  to  be  obtained  someway.  Not  only  were  the  expenses  of 
the  Bonnet  Rouge  increasing,  but  plans  had  been  made  for 
other  defeatist  newspapers  to  be  published  from  the  Bonnet 
Rouge  presses.  Debts  were  piling  up  fast. 

To  fill  the  breach  Duval  and  Marion  brought  in  M.  Ver- 
casson, a  printer,  for  whom  Marion  had  done  some  business 
favors,  and  whom  Marion  had  introduced  to  Duval.  Ver- 
casson made  a  specialty  of  advertising  placards  and  after 
Duval  began  to  build  up  the  circulation  of  the  Bonnet 
Rouge  he  had  need  of  Vercasson's  posters. 

One  day  during  dejeuner,  while  Duval  and  Vercasson  were 
following  the  ancient  Parisien  custom  of  eating  and  doing 
business  at  the  same  time,  Duval  poured  out  a  fresh  glass  of 
red  wine,  and  said: 

"Vercasson,  I  wish  you  would  go  to  Switzerland  for  me 
and  get  some  money.  I  am  too  busy  to  go  myself." 

173 


174  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

The  printer  asked  for  more  details,  and  Duval  told  him  of 
the  San  Stefano  Company  and  its  liquidation.  The  money 
was  to  re-emburse  French  stock  holders,  he  said. 

Although  a  law  had  been  passed  making  it  a  crime  for  a 
Frenchman  even  to  talk  with  a  German  regarding  any  kind 
of  business,  and  everyone  knew  that  the  San  Stefano  had 
been  controlled  by  German  capitalists,  Vercasson  accepted  the 
mission.  He  made  four  trips  to  Geneva,  and  brought  back 
470,738  francs  all  told  for  the  business  manager  of  the 
Bonnet  Rouge. 

Just  how  Vercasson  got  the  money  in  Geneva  is  still  some- 
thing a  mystery.  There  have  been  several  explanations. 
Vercasson  said  in  the  witness  chair  many  months  later  that 
he  used  to  go  to  the  International  Hotel  with  a  pass  word  for 
Mme.  Amherd,  the  proprietress.  Thereupon,  he  would  re- 
ceive a  package  of  franc  notes,  which  we  would  deposit  and 
for  which  he  would  obtain  a  check  on  a  Paris  bank. 

"I  did  not  think  there  was  anything  wrong  in  what  I  did," 
Vercasson  said.  "Let  me  tell  you,  for  example,  of  my  first 
trip.  I  reached  Geneva  on  the  evening  of  September  27, 
1916.  I  went  to  the  Hotel  International  and  asked  for  Mme. 
Amherd.  Duval  had  told  me  that  he  himself  always  stopped 
at  the  Hotel  International,  and  that  frequently  he  had  money 
in  Mme.  Amherd's  keeping.  I  gave  Mme.  Amherd  the  pass- 
word, which  Duval  had  given  me,  and  she  said: 

"  'Do  you  want  the  money  now?' 

"  'Tomorrow  morning  will  be  better,'  I  replied.  'I  can't 
deposit  it  in  a  bank  tonight,  and  I  do  not  care  to  keep  a  lot 
of  money  in  my  room.' 

"So  in  the  morning,  she  landed  me  a  package,  containing 
35,000  francs.  I  gave  her  a  receipt.  Then  I  asked  M. 
Bois,  a  friend  of  mine,  to  accompany  me  to  a  bank.  I  had 
no  trouble.  I  obtained  a  check  payable  on  the  Credit  du 
Nord,  Avenue  de  1'Opera,  Paris.  I  cashed  the  check  in  Paris 
and  then  turned  over  the  money  in  full  to  Duval.  I  made 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  175 

three  other  trips  to  Switzerland,  and  each  time  I  brought 
back  money  to  Duval  in  the  same  way.  Altogether  I  got 
470,738  francs." 

The  exact  dates  and  the  amounts  of  these  checks,  as 
learned  by  an  investigation  of  bank  books  in  France  and 
Switzerland  by  the  Clemenceau  government,  are  as  follows: 

September  29,  1916 35,000  francs 

November  8,  1916 80,000  francs 

November  10,  1916 19,000  francs 

December  23,  1916 171,757  francs 

February  17,  1917 164,981  francs 


470,738  francs 

Meantime  the  Bonnet  Rouge  was  pushing  the  German 
defeatist  propaganda  with  ever  increasing  vigor.  It  some- 
times ran  afoul  of  the  censor,  but  when  it  did  Alemeryda 
would  invoke  the  power  of  Malvy  to  intercede  in  his  behalf. 
If  necessary  Malvy  appealed  even  to  the  Premier,  as  shown 
in  the  following  memorandum  from  the  Ministry  of  the  In- 
terior to  the  censor: 

June  10,  1916. 

The  Cabinet  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  M.  Truchon, 
Chief  Assistant,  brings  to  the  attention  of  the  officer  on  duty 
the  information  that  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  in  accord 
with  the  President  of  the  Council  (Premier  Briand)  has  de- 
cided to  allow  the  Bonnet  Rouge  to  re-appear  today,  upon 
the  satisfactory  assurances  given  by  Almereyda. 

Countersigned 

MALVY. 

Around  Almereyda,  Duval  and  Marion  there  now  revolved 
an  ever  increasing  number  of  satillites,  editors  and  reporters, 
who  were  willing,  in  return  for  more  than  ordinary  salaries, 
to  join  in  the  nefarious  propaganda,  paid  for  by  Marx. 

Chief  among  these  lesser  lights  was  Goldsky,  whose  real 
name  was  Goldschild,  a  bosom  friend  of  Guilbeaux  and 


176  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

d'Hartmas,  lieutenants  of  Lenine.  Goldsky  was  of  the  same 
Bolshevik  type,  as  may  be  seen  any  evening  on  the  East 
Side  of  New  York,  perched  on  a  soap  box  and  haranging  the 
crowd  on  the  iniquities  of  capitalism  and  the  imperative  need 
of  a  complete  social  cataclism,  from  which  the  proletariat  will 
rise  supreme. 

Goldsky,  like  Almereyda  and  Marion,  had  a  criminal  rec- 
ord. He  had  been  twice  condemned  by  the  Court  of  Assizes 
of  the  Seine  for  inciting  murder  and  military  disobedience. 

And  yet  this  man  was  made  another  connecting  link  be- 
tween the  Bonnet  Rouge  and  Malvy.  Indeed,  he  was  taken 
out  of  the  army  that  he  might  obtain  a  position  in  Malvy's 
own  office,  and  at  the  same  time  use  a  desk  in  the  Bonnet 
Rouge  to  write  Bolshevik  articles,  signed,  "General  N."  The 
steps  by  which  this  foe  of  France  was  able  to  crawl  through 
the  law,  like  a  rat  through  cheese,  furnish  a  still  clearer 
illustration  of  the  weakening  and  corrupting  influences  that 
reached  through  various  departments  of  the  government  to 
the  very  cabinet  of  the  Prime  Minister. 

Goldsky  belonged  to  the  1910  class  which  had  been  incor- 
porated into  the  22nd  Section  of  Military  Nurses  on  August 
4,  1914.  Later  he  had  been  attached  to  various  units,  as 
for  example,  "Sanitary  Train,  No.  14."  For  a  time  he  was 
a  division  stretcher  bearer.  On  October  27,  1915,  he  was 
sent  back  to  his  depot,  and  from  January  to  July,  1916,  he 
was  a  nurse  in  the  hospital  of  the  "Grand  Palais." 

Because  of  some  underground  influence,  Jean  Leymarie, 
Malvy's  chief  assistant,  wrote  a  letter  in  Malvy's  name  to  the 
Minister  of  War,  on  July  9,  1916,  asking  that  Goldsky  be 
transferred  to  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior.  As  a  result, 
Goldsky  was  placed  in  the  20th  Section  of  the  Secretaries  of 
the  Staff,  and  instructed  to  hold  himself  at  Malvy's  disposal. 
Everything  seemed  to  have  been  nicely  fixed,  when  on 
September  1,  an  order  was  suddenly  issued  shifting  Goldsky 
back  to  the  Ministry  of  War.  The  news  caused  special  con- 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  177 

sternation  in  the  Bonnet  Rouge  office.  Duval  and  Alme- 
reyda  had  a  hurried  conference,  and  Almereyda  appealed  to 
Malvy  to  bring  Goldsky  back.  Almereyda's  letter  spoke  of 
Goldsky,  "as  my  most  immediate  collaborator,  who  has  as- 
sumed, since  his  return  from  the  front,  the  editorship  of  the 
Bonnet  Rouge" 

Ministerial  orders,  such  as  sent  Goldsky  back  to  the  Min- 
istry of  War  could  be  appealed  to  the  "Bureau  of  Demurr- 
ers." Almereyda's  petition  in  behalf  of  his  Bolshevik  colla- 
borator was  turned  over  to  this  bureau.  To  the  petition  was 
pinned  this  note: 

"It  is  correct  that  demurrers  have  been  granted  in  favor 
of  newspapers.  The  last  one,  to  my  knowledge,  was  acceeded 
to  upon  the  request  of  M.  Charles  Humbert,  director  of  Le 
Journal  in  favor  of  M.  Guerin." 

Below  the  note  was  written  this  notation : 

"No  demurrer  has  been  granted  to  editors,  only  to  ordi- 
nary employees.  It  is  not  the  same  thing.  In  any  case  ask 
the  Bureau  of  Demurrers." 

The  bureau  held  an  inquiry,  at  which  it  was  reported  that 
the  Bonnet  Rouge  had  grown  from  a  weekly  to  a  daily  news- 
paper since  the  war,  that  it  had  a  rapidly  growing  circula- 
tion, that  its  importance  was  constantly  becoming  greater, 
that  its  staff  of  editors  had  been  increased,  and  that  the  pres- 
ence of  M.  Goldsky  on  its  staff  had  been  found  most  useful. 

The  Bureau  of  Demurrers  granted  the  favor,  and  Goldsky 
went  back  to  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior.  From  that  time 
on  he  spent  part  of  the  day  under  Malvy,  as  a  government 
official,  having  access  to  the  secret  archives  of  the  police  and 
detective  bureaus ;  and  during  other  hours  he  was  counseling 
with  Almereyda,  Duval  and  Marion  in  schemes  of  perfidy 
and  treason. 

Besides  seeking  to  arouse  class  hatred  in  France,  while 
always  pointing  to  the  panacea  of  a  Bolskevik  state,  "Gen- 
eral N."  devoted  much  of  his  time  and  energy  also  to  a 


178  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

crusade  against  American  intervention  in  the  war.  He 
argued  that  America's  support  of  the  Allies  would  prolong 
the  conflict  indefinitely,  that  the  list  of  French  dead  and 
wounded  would  be  interminably  lengthened,  that  the  Ger- 
mans could  keep  up  the  fight  the  same  as  ever,  and  that  the 
only  salvation  for  France  was  an  immediate  and  separate 
peace. 

In  the  Bonnet  Rouge  of  February  16  1917,  thirteen  days 
after  the  United  States  severed  diplomatic  relations  with 
Germany,  "General  N."  said  that  the  Americans  were  going 
crazy.  He  congratulated  the  King  of  Spain  for  remaining 
neutral,  and  added: 

"The  views  of  this  sincere  friend  of  France,  the  King  of 
Spain,  are  too  elevated  even  to  dream  of  entering  a  choir  of 
lunatics." 

"General  N."  also  sought  constantly  to  make  the  French 
believe  that  Germany  was  not  wholly  responsible  for  the  war, 
that  even  France  was  much  to  blame.  In  a  style,  which  be- 
trayed the  subtleness  of  Duval,  "General  N."  tried  to  turn 
the  French  against  themselves.  The  following  article,  printed 
Dec.  22,  1916,  is  typical: 

"At  Europe's  Tribunal,  we  should  know  how  to  recognize 
our  own  wrongs  also.  The  Gazette  of  Frankfort  writes  very 
judiciously  that  Europe  was  waging  war  even  before  the 
war.  Several  newspapers  from  the  other  side  of  the  Rhine 
point  out  that  the  Entente  is  hypnotized  by  the  past,  when 
as  a  matter  of  fact  only  the  future  concerns  us.  We  must 
admit  this  remark  is  correct. 

"A  Hamburg  newspaper  also  points  out  and  with  the  same 
degree  of  justice,  that  if  we  were  to  engage  ourselves  in  a 
discussion  of  the  responsibilities  of  the  war — if  we  were  to 
try  to  solve  this  question  without  taking  any  real,  practical 
step  towards  peace — we  will  never  obtain  peace." 

Behind  the  camouflage  of  "General  N."  Goldsky  seemed 
to  have  completely  forgotten  his  days  as  a  nurse  and 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  179 

stretcher  bearer.  He  wrote  about  army  manoeuvers  with 
supreme  military  authority.  He  always  emphasized  the  point 
that  Germany  was  invulnerable.  On  August  1,  1916,  when 
the  Germans  were  at  St.  Quentin,  he  wrote : 

"Germany  still  has  numerous  reserves.  Thus  the  French 
nation  knows  where  it  stands.  It  can  appreciate  how  great 
are  the  sacrifices  still  to  be  expected  of  it,  especially  if  told 
to  hold  out  for  the  realization  of  uncertain  and  remote  aims." 

On  December  4,  1916,  he  wrote: 

"All  the  nations  should  know  what  they  are  fighting  for, 
toward  what  realizations  their  chiefs  are  leading  them.  I 
should  think  that  we  have  in  France  other  aims  than  Con- 
stantinople and  Cracovia.  What  are  they?" 

The  new  publications,  which  Duval  planned  for  various 
circles  of  readers,  who  would  not  buy  the  Bonnet  Rouge  were 
assigned  to  Goldsky,  Marion  and  Landau.  Such  journal- 
istic tactics  are  not  unknown  in  America.  When  a  news- 
paper or  a  hotel  gets  a  bad  name,  one  means  of  salvation  is 
to  change  its  name.  The  constant  attacks  upon  the  Bonnet 
Rouge  by  Leon  Daudet  in  L' Action  Francaise,  by  Maurice 
Barres  in  the  Echo  de  Paris;  and  by  many  other  journalists, 
compelled  Almereyda  and  Duval  to  affect  other  masquerades. 

Of  this  perfidious  brood  of  newspapers,  the  Republican 
Trench,  intended  especially  for  the  soldiers  at  the  front, 
worked  perhaps  the  greatest  evil.  It  was  founded  by  Goldsky 
and  Landau  with  10,000  francs  furnished  by  Duval.  Here 
are  some  of  its  utterances : 

"The  French  people  are  not  imbeciles,  Messers.  Ministers. 
Do  you  not  hear  that  sound  which  is  constantly  growing 
louder,  which  is  becoming  so  loud  that  it  even  begins  to 
drown  out  the  roar  of  battle,  the  sound  of  voices  which  ask 
for  peace,  which  desire  the  olive  branch  of  love  rather  than 
the  laurels  of  hatred?" 

Also: 

"The  Russian  revolution  is  a  revolution  against  not  only 


180  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

the  Russian  government,  but  all  the  other  governments  of 
Europe.  The  future  alone  is  important.  The  only  excuse 
for  this  war  is  that  it  will  bring  forth  from  all  this  disaster 
that  beautiful  flower,  which  the  Russian  call,  the  'Soviet.' 

"Let  us  be  thankful,  that  on  the  dawn  of  the  fourth  year 
of  the  war  it  is  possible  to  find  men  who  will  dare,  speak, 
write,  think  and  believe  in  the  'Soviet.' 

"Glory  to  the  'Soviet,'  to  which  we  are  indebted  for  the 
first  victory  since  the  war,  a  victory  won  by  nations  newly 
born." 

The  effect  of  such  poison  gas  upon  the  soldiers  is  shown 
by  the  following  letter  from  a  poilu  to  the  director  of  the 
Republican  Trench,  and  finally  seized  by  government  in- 
spectors in  a  raid  on  Landau's  home. 

"From  the  Orient  Front,  June  26,  1917. 

"To  the  Director  of  the  Trenches: 

"I  had  recently  the  pleasure  of  reading  the  first  number 
of  your  interesting  newspaper.  Were  I  in  France,  I  would 
subscribe  to  it,  but  in  the  Orient  our  letters  and  parcels  are 
stolen  from  us.  A  good  newspaper  insisting  on  putting  an 
end  to  the  war  would  never  reach  me. 

"You  should  have  a  good  collaborator  in  Macedonia,  be- 
cause here  our  officers  abuse  us.  I  am  one  of  those,  who  will 
soon  have  twenty-one  months  of  the  Orient  in  addition  to 
fourteen  months  of  French  front,  or  altogether  thirty-five 
months  of  wholesale  butchery  without  a  single  minute  of 
furlough.  What  a  shameful  existence  is  mine ! 

"The  news  from  France  of  a  lively  revolution,  which  will 
liberate  us  from  the  sabre  and  reaction,  is  certainly  reassur- 
ing. 

"We  are  with  you,  brave  journalists,  and  let  us  hope  that 
we  shall  soon  get  all  the  drinkers  of  blood." 

In  addition  to  the  Republican  Trench  there  were  the 
Trench  Telegram,  of  which  Goldsky  was  chief  editor ;  and  the 
Nation  which  Duval  gave  30,000  francs,  and  of  which  Marion 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  181 

was  head.  Boasting  of  the  power  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge  cir- 
cle of  publications,  Goldsky  wrote  as  follows  on  March 
15,  1917: 

''Around  the  Bonnet  Rouge  various  organs  of  opinion  have 
been  born,  each  day  more  numerous,  supporting  and 
strengthening  its  position.  Dolie  founds  VAgence  Repub- 
licaine,  Marion  takes  charge  of  the  publication  of  the  France 
Tele  gramme.  Landau  is  pushing  the  Primo.  Next  week, 
Clairet  and  Bontemps  will  bring  out  Le  Bloc. .  In  the  Tran~ 
cliee  I  am  ambushed. 

"These  agencies,  these  journals  are  for  the  Bonnet  Rouge, 
what  the  torpedo  fleet  is  for  the  cruisers.  Altogether  we 
continue  to  advance  and  with  a  light  heart:" 

Although  the  Russian  Bolsheviks  under  Lenine  and  Trot- 
sky did  not  overthrow  the  Kerensky  government  and  seize 
Petrograd  until  Nov.  7,  1917,  German  propaganda  seeking 
to  arouse  a  sympathetic  movement  in  France  had  been  scat- 
tered broadcast  through  the  French  Republic  by  the  Bonnet 
Rouge  publications  throughout  the  first  half  of  1917. 

At  Barcelona,  Spain,  a  self  styled  French  newspaper  was 
founded  with  the  same  name  as  Lenine's  Petrograd  organ, 
Truth,  which  aided  the  Bolshevik  campaign  in  France,  and 
which  also  established  a  secret  connection  with  the  Bonnet 
Rouge. 

This  connection  cost  Duval  10,000  francs  of  Marx's 
money,  and  resulted  in  the  Truth's  support  of  Malvy  and 
Caillaux.  Some  typical  headlines  from  the  Barcelona  paper, 
which  were  cited  by  Clemenceau  on  September  3,  1917,  to 
show  the  far  reaching  extent  of  Caillauxism  and  Bolshevism 
and  how  in  some  places  they  overlapped,  read  as  follows: 

"What  Malvy  ought  to  have  replied  to  Clemenceau." 

"The  Decline  of  England." 

"The  Man  of  the  Day,  Caillaux." 

The  editor  of  Bonnet  Rouge  who  established  connections 
with  the  Truth  of  Barcelona  was  Joucla.  His  operations 


182  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

were  described  long  afterward  at  his  trial  by  Lt.  Mornet,  his 
prosecutor  in  the  following  language: 

"Joucla  was  a  spy  as  well  as  a  journalist. 

"In  the  middle  of  the  war  he  introduced  himself  to  the 
German  Consulate  General  at  Barcelona  upon  presenting  his 
card,  as  an  editor  of  the  Bonnet  Rouge.  He  was  received 
by  a  stout  gentleman  with  gold  eye  glasses  and  blond  hair, 
the  Baron  Roland,  the  German  Consul  General,  himself. 
Joucla  said  he  would  like  to  locate  a  pro-German  newspaper 
which  had  been  started  in  Barcelona,  and  Baron  Roland  gave 
the  visitor  the  address  of  the  Truth" 

Joucla  also  received  from  Duval  10,000  francs  to  organize 
a  newspaper,  called  Around  the  School,  which  was  to  streng- 
then still  further  the  Bonnet  Rouge's  "torpedo  fleet." 

At  last  Duval  decided  he  would  have  to  make  another  trip 
to  Switzerland.  He  not  only  needed  the  Marx  money,  but 
the  Marx  approval  of  all  his  many  enterprises.  He  wanted 
to  make  a  report  concerning  his  various  successes,  and  if 
possible  persuade  Marx  that  the  treason  payments  be  greatly 
increased. 

With  Landau  and  Goldsky,  Duval  had  a  conference  with 
Leymarie,  chief  director  of  Malvy's  office.  Duval  told  his 
old  story  about  the  liquidation  of  the  San  Stefano  Company. 
Landau  and  Goldsky  backed  up  Duval,  and  Leymarie  with 
Malvy's  sanction  ordered  the  passport  issued. 

In  Switzerland  Duval  made  such  a  pleasant  impression 
upon  Marx,  that  his  request  for  more  money  was  graciously 
granted.  Marx  gave  him  a  check  for  150,000  francs,  dated 
May  12,  1917,  and  said  that  many  more  checks  of  a  much 
larger  figure  would  be  forthcoming.  Duval  had  now  received 
personally  or  through  Vercassion  925.000  francs  from 
Marx,  as  follows: 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  183 

March  28,  1916 To  Duval 77,000  francs. 

May  30,  1916 To  Duval 78,000    francs. 

July  8,  1916 To  Duval 150,000  francs. 

Sept.  29—1916  to— 

Feb.  17,  1917 To  Vercasson 470,738  francs. 

May  12,  1917 To  Duval 150,000  francs. 

925,738  francs. 

But  Duval  had  made  one  trip  too  often.  It  was  this  150,- 
000  franc  check,  which  caused  the  ruin  of  the  whole  Boimet 
Rouge  gang  and  the  collapse  of  the  Great  Conspiracy.  Just 
as  Duval  reached  Bellegarde  on  the  Swiss  frontier  on  his  re- 
turn to  Paris,  a  number  of  French  officers  surrounded  him. 
One  insisted  on  making  a  complete  search  of  all  his  pos- 
sessions. In  the  bottom  of  an  inside  pocket,  they  found  the 
check. 

"We  will  keep  this,"  they  said.  "If  you  want  it  back,  you 
can  go  to  the  Prefecture  of  Police,  Paris." 

A  cog  in  Malvy's  machine  had  gone  loose.  Despite  Malvy's 
own  promise,  despite  the  personal  intervention  of  Leymarie, 
despite  Duval's  reception  at  Caillaux's  country  home,  he  sud- 
denly found  himself  jolted  about  like  a  common  suspect,  his 
pockets  and  valises  rifled,  and  his  150,000  franc  check  gone. 

When  the  news  reached  the  Bonnet  Rouge  office,  pandi- 
monium  broke  loose.  Goldsky  and  Landau  ran  in  protest 
to  Leymarie,  and  as  soon  as  Duval  reached  Paris,  they  ac- 
companied him  to  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior.  Again  Duval 
told  his  San  Stefano  story,  and  after  some  whisperings  be- 
tween Malvy  and  Leymarie,  he  got  his  check  back. 

But  the  seizure  and  restitution  of  the  Duval  check  started 
too  great  a  scandal  to  be  hid.  True,  all  the  papers  re- 
lating to  the  affair  were  ordered  sealed  and  put  away.  Sub- 
ordinates in  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior,  who  knew  Malvy's 
connections  with  the  Bonnet  Rouge  were  made  to  understand 
it  was  too  delicate  a  situation  to  meddle  with. 


184  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Indeed,  the  ghost  of  the  Duval  check  might  have  remained 
indefinitely  under  lock  and  key,  had  not  Maurice  Barres  in 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies  on  July  7,  1917  brought  it  forth 
in  all  its  ghastliness  and  made  it  point  its  spectral  hands  at 
Malvy. 

It  happened  to  be  a*,  a  time  when  the  Minister  of  the  In- 
terior occupied  the  Tribune.  He  had  been  trying  to  justify 
the  administration  of  his  office.  As  if  to  defend  Malvy,  a 
socialist  named  May  eras  attempted  to  change  the  subject,  by 
opening  an  attack  on  Barres.  Barres  ignored  Mayeras,  but 
turning  full  on  Malvy  he  cried: 

"Since  my  colleague  has  given  me  a  chance  to  speak  I  will 
ask  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  what  measures  he  is  taking 
against  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  gang?  Why  does  he  not  have  a 
certain  'Bonnet  Rouge'  rascal  arrested?" 

Malvy's  face  turned  white.  He  seemed  to  realize  that 
from  that  moment  the  ghost,  which  stood  before  him,  would 
never  cease  to  haunt  him. 

Premier  Ribot,  noticing  that  the  Chamber  would  not  let 
the  incident  pass  without  more  trouble,  and  that  a  scandal 
involving  Malvy  might  overthrow  his  already  unsteady  cab- 
inet, came  to  the  rescue  of  his  Minister  of  the  Interior.  The 
Premier  explained  that  a  check  thought  to  be  of  suspicious 
origin,  had  been  found  in  the  pockets  of  a  Bonnet  Rouge 
editor  on  the  Swiss  frontier.  The  matter  was  being  in- 
vestigated, he  said. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  "TIGER"  LEAPS 

Clemenceau  Attacks  Malvy  in  Senate — Accuses  Him  of  Be- 
traying France — Exposes  Minister  of  Interior  as  Friend 
of  Enemy  Agents — Reveals  an  Apache,  as  Real  Head  of 
Police — Almereyda's  Sudden  Death — Was  He  murdered  to 
Protect  Others  More  Powerful? 

Next  day  the  patriot  newspapers  of  Paris,  which  for  years 
had  been  vainly  pointing  out  the  dangers  of  Malvy's  inaction, 
concentrated  all  their  fire  again  on  the  Minister  of  the  In- 
terior. They  demanded  the  most  searching  investigation  of 
all  his  dealings  with  pacifists,  defeatists,  anarchists  and  enemy 
agents. 

"Let  us  know  all  the  truth  about  Malvy  and  the  'Bonnet 
Rouged  cried  Daudet  in  V Action  Francaise. 

But  these  were  only  the  first  rumblings  of  the  earthquake. 
The  first  real  shock  came  on  July  22,  1917,  when  Clemenceau, 
then  a  Senator,  arose  before  his  colleagues  in  the  Palais  du 
Luxembourg  and  openly  accused  Malvy  of  betraying  France. 

There  had  been  a  desultory  discussion  of  an  interpellation 
to  M.  Debierre  regarding  the  administration  of  the  Health 
Bureau.  After  several  had  spoken  and  M.  Painleve,  Minister 
of  War,  was  about  to  leave  the  Chamber,  Clemenceau  mounted 
the  Tribune  and  said : 

"We  must  put  some  order  in  this  country." 

There  was  an  ominous  ring  in  these  words  which  arrested 
attention. 

"The  situation  has  become  so  grave,  that  some  attention 

185 


186  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

must  be  taken,"  he  continued.   "The  nation  is  beset  with  perils 
ivithin,  as  well  as  without.    Let  us  see  what  these  dangers  are." 
Looking  at  Malvy,  the  "Tiger"  measured  his  distance  and 
prepared  to  spring.     Malvy's  face  turned  white. 

"There  is  a  notebook  in  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior,  known 
as  Garnet  B,"  said  Clemenceau.  "It  contains  the  names  of 
anarchists  and  anti  militarists,  who  should  be  watched  at  all 
times,  and  during  mobilization,  arrested. 

"At  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  it  was  the  duty  of  M.  Malvy 
to  have  put  this  dangerous  element  where  it  could  have  done 
no  harm.  But  M.  Malvy  did  nothing.  He  consulted  me 
about  the  matter  at  the  time,  but  whatever  may  have  been  my 
advice,  he  took  no  official  action.  Instead,  he  permitted  Al- 
mereyda  to  act  for  him  in  negociating  with  these  people. 

"And,  who  is  Almereyda?" 

Here  Clemenceau  read  from  police  records  a  long  list  of 
crimes  for  which  Almereyda  had  been  convicted.  It  showed 
that  the  life  of  Malvy's  associate  had  been  one  long  chapter 
of  violence  and  iniquity.  Most  of  all  it  revealed  him  as  the 
implacable  enemy  of  government.  Clemenceau  read  extracts 
from  Almereyda's  Rheims  speech  urging  the  people  to  fight 
enlistment  in  the  army,  and  ending  with  the  words:  "Each 
fellow  countrymen  should  be  anti  patriotic.  It  should  make 
no  difference  whether  he  is  a  German  or  a  Frenchman." 

Clemenceau's  four  score  years  seemed  to  vibrate  with  all 
the  vigor  of  early  youth,  as  he  pointed  again  toward  Malvy 
and  cried: 

"Tell  me.  How  is  it  that  the  author  of  such  a  speech  has 
been  able  to  find  friendly  access  to  all  the  departments  of  the 
Ministry  of  the  Interior?  I  never  saw  the  Garnet  B,  but  it 
would  be  the  dispair  of  both  God  and  man,  if  Almereyda 
were  not  in  it.  However,  Almereyda  is  in  it,  and  Almereyda 
knows  he  is  in  it.  He  also  knows  that  he  rejoiced  to  see  the 
man  who  now  holds  this  book  made  Minister  of  the  Interior." 

Clemenceau  spoke  of  a  visit  to  the  Bonnet  Rouge  office  on 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  187 

Oct. 31,  1915.  He  said  that  Almereyda  told  of  a  convers- 
ation which  Clemenceau  reproduced  as  follows: 

"Almereyda,  'What  are  you  doing  with  the  note  book  B?' 

"Malvy,  I  am  glad  you  spoke  of  that.' 

"Almere}rda,  'I  will  tell  you  what  to  do.  Arrest  no  one.'  " 

Again  pointing  at  Malvy,  Clemenceau  thundered:  "And 
that  was  the  order.  Arrest  no  one." 

The  Senator  told  of  other  conversations  between  Almereyda 
and  Malvy.  One  concerned  a  nest  of  anarchists,  which  Al- 
mereyda promised  to  visit  within  the  next  twenty  four  hours 
upon  Malvy's  promise  that  if  Almereyda  came  back  and  said, 
"Nothing  to  fear",  Malvy  would  take  no  action. 

After  reading  more  documents  to  prove  his  charges,  Clem- 
enceau continued: 

"I  am  not  prepared  to  condemn  M.  Malvy,  simply  for  not 
having  caused  the  arrest  of  everyone  whose  name  was  in  the 
Garnet  B.  My  criticism  is  that  he  should  not  have  put  it 
into  a  drawer  and  thrown  the  key  into  the  Seine.  I  think 
the  Garnet  B  should  have  been  used  to  watch  these  men,  to 
watch  them  very  closely,  and  if  any  one  of  them,  in  spite  of 
the  promise  of  Almereyda,  their  worthy  Ambassador,  should, 
resume  his  old  practices,  then  the  amnesty  should  end.  Such 
an  individual  should  be  seized.  This  M.  Malvy  has  not  dcr.e. 

"Now,  we  come  to  the  question  of  the  documents,  dis- 
tributed by  anarchists,  pacifists,  and  other  malcontents.  We 
went  before  the  Commission  of  the  Army.  M.  Ribot  and  M. 
Malvy  were  there.  I  asked  them  for  the  monthly  reports  of 
the  last  six  months  relating  to  anti-patriotic  propaganda. 
M.  Ribot  said  we  could  have  them.  Well,  I  confess  that  as 
soon  as  he  said,  'yes',  I  knew  the  next  day  he  would  say,  'no.' 
And  sure  enough,  the  following  day,  M.  Ribot  wrote  us  that 
he  had  seen  the  reports,  but  could  not  let  us  have  them,  be- 
cause they  contained  names  which  could  not  be  made  public. 

"I  was  quite  surprised  at  this  reply,  because  the  Ministry 
of  War  furnishes  us  everyday  with  documents  of  much  more 


188  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

gravity,  but  of  which  the  secrets  never  leave  the  Commission 
of  the  Army.  Nevertheless,  we  finally  obtained  these  papers. 

(Clemenceau   was   President    of   the   Army    Commission.) 

"I  shall  not  divulge  any  of  the  names  found  in  these  docu- 
ments. I  simply  want  to  make  the  point  clear,  that  these  men, 
who  have  been  told  they  would  not  be  prosecuted,  began,  like 
the  rats  of  the  fable,  to  show  their  noses  out  of  the  hole,  and 
when  they  saw  they  were  safe,  when  they  learned  that  they 
could  start  agitations  and  hold  meetings  without  being  pro- 
secuted, they  became  bolder  and  bolder. 

"The  first  evidence  of  this  return  to  the  offensive  dates 
back  to  November  22,  1914.  As  I  will  not  mention  names,  I 
will  refer  to  the  author  of  this  document,  as  X.  He  says : 

"  'To  talk  peace  is  the  duty  of  all  workingmen's  organiz- 
ations.' 

"  'The  responsibility  of  the  French,  English  and  Russian 
governments  is  not  a  light  one.  Furthermore,  it  has  not  been 
established  that  the  French  government  did  everything  it 
could  to  safeguard  peace  during  the  last  days  of  July." 

The  speaker  was  interrupted  by  a  storm  of  exclamations, 
among  which  could  be  heard  the  voice  of  Senator  Guilloteaux, 
gaying: 

"The  abominable  lie." 

"You  see  the  tendency  of  these  men,"  continued  Clem- 
enceau. "At  first  they  remain  close  to  the  goverment,  of 
which  M.  Malvy  is  a  part ;  and  then  beginning  in  November, 
1914,  they  say: 

"  'It  is  not  certain,  that  you  did  not  provoke  the  war.' ' 

"Whoever  said  that  are  Boches,"  shouted  Senator  Guillo- 
teaux, again  drowning  out  the  cries  of  his  colleagues. 

"I  will  read  from  other  reports,"  said  Clemenceau. 

"Z  declares  at  Lyons  that  'this  ignominious  and  monstrous 
war'  had  been  wished  and  prepared  by  England  since  1904. 
French  soldiers  are  committing  as  many  atrocities  as  German 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  189 

soldiers.  The  German  people  deserve  the  first  place  in  the 
world  because  of  their  social  and  economic  superiority.'  " 

Senator  Clemenceau  was  again  interrupted  by  lively  ex- 
clamations, but  continued: 

"Here  are  other  circulars,  for  example:  'All  Frenchmen 
should  have  responded  to  the  order  of  mobilization  by  a  gen- 
eral strike  and  insurrection.  I  have  no  country,  and  to  live 
under  the  Prussian  heel  or  the  French  heel  makes  no  difference 
to  me. 

"And  now  listen  to  the  worst  of  all,"  said  the  aged  Senator, 
pausing. 

"Here  is  a  proclamation  that  says : 

"  'It  is  the  German  regime,  which  is  the  best.  Perhaps,  at 
this  moment,  German  administration  is  rather  harsh,  because 
of  the  privations  caused  by  the  blockade,  but,  in  general,  all 
that  is  said  about  the  Germans  has  been  exaggerated.  Ac- 
cording to  certain  conversations  with  people  who  have  left 
Germany,  it  is  not  the  Germans  who  make  life  hard  for  the 
prisoners,  but  the  Allied  officers  among  the  prisoners." 

Referring  to  the  strikes,  Clemenceau  said: 

"It  was  also  M.  Malvy,  who  brought  up  the  strike  question 
that  he  might  have  the  glory  of  saying:  'Ah,  that  poor 
Lloyd  George.  How  much  trouble  he  has  with  strikes,  while 
I,  Malvy,  in  accord  with  my  friend,  Almereyda,  have  obtained 
admirable  results  by  suppressing  the  Garnet  B. 

"I  will  cite  an  example  of  M.  Malvy's  methods.  There  was 
a  meeting  in  a  government  establishment.  An  anarchist 
preached  all  manner  of  revolt  and  lawlessness.  He  told  the 
workers  to  stop  work.  There  was  no  prosecution.  The 
policeman  present  excused  the  anarchist.  He  conducted  the 
fellow  to  the  railroad  station,  and  saluted  by  doffing  his  cap. 
Complaints  demanded  an  investigation.  When  M.  Malvy 
learned  the  facts,  he  excused  both  anarchist  and  policeman. 

"It  has  been  said  that  no  revolutionary  plot  lurks  behind 
these  strikes.  Let  us  see.  I  will  read  some  official  reports  to 


190  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

the  Minister  of  the  Interior.  Here  is  one  from  M.  Rault,  pre- 
fect of  Lyons,  who  writes : 

"  'I  am  under  the  very  clear  impression,  that  an  agitation 
is  being  hatched  secretly  in  certain  parts  of  the  city  and 
suburbs.  I  believe  we  may  be  on  the  eve  of  serious  develop- 
ments. 

"  'The  strikes  in  Paris  have  precipitated  a  most  serious 
situation  here.  The  union  of  syndicates  and  an  anarchistic 
group,  of  which  the  anarchist  X  is  secretary,  seconded,  by 
Z.,  have  taken  advantage  of  the  Paris  'events  to  start  a  strike 
movement  in  Lyons.' 

"There  you  can  see  the  connection  between  the  revolution- 
ists and  the  strikes.  Both  are  the  same  thing.  The  strikes 
were  not  only  for  the  vindication  of  the  workingmen.  They 
have  been  fostered  by  certain  individuals,  who  hoped  through 
them  to  create  pacifist  opinion." 

From  a  heap  of  pamphlets  before  him, — circulars,  posters, 
manifestos  of  anarchists,  defeatists  and  others  of  kindred 
sort,  the  Senator  took  a  handful  and  continued: 

"I  shall  read  only  one  passage  from  these  abominable  pam- 
phlets, which  have  been  permitted  to  be  sent  into  the  trenches, 
which  have  arrived  there  in  huge  bales,  and  which  the  army 
officers  cannot  stop.  We  have  the  right  to  examine  them,  and 
to  ask  the  Minister  of  the  Interior. 

"'Why  do  you  not  put  an  end  to  this  propaganda?' 

"Here  is  a  sample.    It  reads : 

"  'The  soldiers  of  all  countries  at  war  should  follow  the 
counsel  given  to  them  by  Liebknecht,  when  he  proposed  that 
they  turn  their  arms  against  their  own  government. 

"  'The  workingmen  with  arms  in  their  hands  should  break 
the  power  of  the  bureaucratic  and  militarist  State,  and  over- 
throw their  governments.  After  having  arrested  the  mem- 
bers of  public  administrations,  they  should  form  a  govern- 
ment composed  of  the  proletariat.  These  workingmen's  gov- 
ernments should  take  possession  of  all  the  banks,  of  all  the 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  191 

corporations  of  any  importance,  and  institute  with  all  the 
energy  of  the  capitalists,  the  mobilization  of  the  proletariat. 

"  'It  is  not  in  vain  that  in  all  countries,  the  so-called  com- 
mon people  learn  how  to  use  arms.  If  in  1912  Serbian  and 
Bulgarian  peasants  were  able  to  hasten  the  termination  of 
that  war  by  shooting  their  officers,  the  French,  German  and 
English  workingmen  can  do  likewise.' 

"And  this  is  the  vile  kind  of  stuff  which  has  been  permitted 
to  be  circulated."  said  Clemenceau.  "I  think  that  even  when 
pamphlets  do  not  show  the  name  of  the  printer,  those  re- 
sponsible for  their  distribution  can  be  reached  and  seized." 

Among  other  criticisms  of  Malvy,  Senator  Clemenceau 
cited  the  escape  of  deserters  as  the  direct  result  of  the  neg- 
ligence of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior.  Continuing,  he  said: 

"On  July  17,  1917,  the  Prefect  of  Police  wrote  to  M. 
Malvy  that  he  had  found  the  address  of  the  syndicalist,  anti 
patriotic  deserter,  Cochon,  who  had  been  defended  by  Al- 
mereyda  in  the  'Bonnet  Rouge9.  He  asked  the  Minister  of 
the  Interior  for  instructions  to  arrest  Cochon. 

"Three  days  later,  the  Prefect  of  Police  again  wrote  to 
M.  Malvy  that  as  the  instructions  had  not  come  on  time, 
Cochon  had  escaped." 

.At  this  point  Malvy,  who  had  been  bending  forward  fur- 
ther and  further  to  catch  all  that  Clemenceau  said,  leaped  to 
his  feet  with  this  interjection: 

"  'On  the  instant,  I  gave  the  Prefect  of  Police  the  order  to 
arrest  that  deserter." 

"You  did  not  give  it  on  time,"  insisted  Clemenceau.  M. 
Cochon  was  forewarned.  There  is  no  doubt  about  it.  And 
Cochon  is  that  ignominious  syndicalist  anti  proprietor,  anti 
patriot,  whom  you  all  know." 

"I  give  you  my  word  of  honor,"  implored  Malvy. 

"What,"  exclaimed  Clemenceau.  "What  was  your  pur- 
pose in  compelling  your  prefects  to  ask  you  for  instructions, 
before  making  such  arrests?  In  a  country  three  years  at 


192  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

war,  in  a  country  invaded  by  the  enemy,  why  should  it  re- 
quire specific  instructions  from  the  Minister  of  the  Interior 
before  arresting  a  deserter?  Explain  that  to  me.  Now,  sir, 
it  is  your  turn  to  speak." 

The  "Tiger"  had  sprung.  Malvy  tried  hard  to  show  he  did 
not  feel  the  claws,  but  failed.  Half  stammering,  he  replied: 

"But,  M.  Clemenceau,  I-I,  in  fact  I  had  been  advised  by 
the  Prefect  of  Police,  that  they — they  merely  thought  they 
had  found  Cochon's  abode." 

"Sir,  you  are  not  answering  the  question,"  cried  CLem- 
enceau,  "I  have  asked  you  how  you  could  explain  your  con- 
duct, how  in  a  country  three  years  at  war,  in  a  country  in- 
vaded, it  should  be  necessary  for  a  prefect  of  police  to  ask 
the  authorization  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  for  the  arrest 
of  a  deserter.  (Prolonged  applause) 

"But  I  must  pass  on.  I  wish  to  say  something  of  the  way 
foreigners  have  been  watched  during  the  war. 

"M.  Malvy  has  left  the  doors  wide  open.  Let  me  give  you 
an  instance.  A  friend  of  mine,  a  Dr.  Baratoux,  a  widely 
known  specialist  of  Paris,  a  man  widely  known  and  greatly 
esteemed,  was  taking  a  walk  at  Dinard  on  September  20, 
1914,  only  eight  weeks  after  the  declaration  of  war.  He 
saw  an  automobile  surrounded  by  an  excited  crowd,  which 
was  yelling: 

"  'Down  with  the  Germans !    Down  with  the  Boches !' 

<cDr.  Baratoux  approached,  and  finding  that  the  auto- 
mobilists  were  trying  to  start  the  motor  and  escape  he  threat- 
ened to  puncture  a  tire.  Finally,  he  compelled  two  men  to 
get  out  of  the  car.  They  were  two  Germans,  M.  Pollack  and 
M.  Braun,  who  were  travelling  with  a  permit  from  the  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior. 

"The  physician  immediately  reported  these  facts  to  a 
member  of  the  municipality  of  Dinard,  and  was  told  that  the 
Mayor  had  just  appealed  to  the  population  to  respect  for- 
•eigners  and  not  disturb  them. 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  J93 

"In  indignation  the  doctor  pasted  on  his  window  the 
Mayor's  proclamation  and  beside  it  a  clipping  from  a  Paris 
newspaper,  which  stated  that  in  Munich  French  prisoners 
were  being  exhibited  in  a  public  garden  for  10  pfennigs  ad- 
mission. The  following  day  the  Mayor  gave  vent  to  his 
anger  by  sending  this  statement  to  'La  Guerre\  the  news- 
paper published  under  the  control  of  the  municipality  of 
Dinard : 

"  'I  dedicate  these  lines  to  some  anonymous  brutes,  who  by 
letters  or  posters  have  reproached  the  Mayor  of  Dinard  with 
a  lack  of  patriotism  because  he  did  his  utmost  to  prevent  a 
certain  number  of  excited  people  from  molesting  the  few 
Germans  and  Austrians  who  remained  here  after  the  mobili- 
zation.' (Exclamations) 

"This  is  only  one  incident,  but  it  furnishes  some  idea  of  the 
whole  picture,  the  condition  of  all  France  seven  weeks  after 
the  declaration  of  war.  Alien  enemies  were  roaming  around 
everywhere." 

After  mentioning  several  more  instances  of  Germans  and 
Austrians  operating  with  perfect  freedom  in  various  places, 
Clemenceau  continued: 

"In  all  these  incidents  you  will  find  that  the  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  has  clashed  with  the  Minister  of  the  Interior. 
The  former  wanted  alien  enemies  put  under  guard,  that  there 
might  not  be  any  chance  of  wrong  doing.  But  as  for  Malvy, 
he  was  so  lenient  with  the  anti  patriots,  so  anxious  to  guaran- 
tee them  against  the  law,  so  generous  and  kind,  that  his 
fame  will  endure  for  a  long,  long  time. 

"M.  Malvy  can  only  offer  an  embarassed  reply.  He  ex- 
plains that  he  must  handle  the  working  classes  with  tact.  He 
*ays: 

"  'You  have  asked  me  to  act  with  energy.  I  reply  that  an 
obstinate  and  vigilant  patience,  an  appeal  to  reason  in  the 
hours  of  crisis  are  perhaps  not  less  efficacious  than  a  policy 
of  repression.' " 


194  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"Very  well,"  "very  well"  chorused  the  socialists  on  the 
Left.  Simultaneously  Malvy  cried: 

"You  have  reproached  me  with  not  having  brought  you 
enough  heads.  Instead  I  brought  you  results,  and  it  is  upon 
these  results  that  I  ask  the  High  Assembly  to  judge  me." 

Again  the  "Tiger"  sprang.    He  cried: 

"No,  no,  I  reproach  you  for  having  betrayed  your  coun- 
try." 

The  public  was  aroused  by  Clemenceau's  speech  to  white 
heat.  It  demanded  that  he  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  gov- 
ernment and  permitted  to  purge  France  of  the  evils  he  had 
revealed. 

At  this  crisis,  when  the  chief  plotters  of  the  Great  Con- 
spiracy realized  they  were  doomed,  unless  all  possible  evidence 
of  their  crimes  was  destroyed,  unless  every  tongue,  that 
might  tell,  was  silenced,  Almereyda  was  suddenly  struck  dead. 

Only  a  few  days  after  Clemenceau's  speech  the  Bonnet 
Rouge  editor-in-chief  was  arrested  and  taken  to  Fresnes 
prison.  On  August  14,  1917,  a  little  more  than  three  weeks 
later  his  body  was  found  half  prostrate  on  the  floor  of  his 
cell.  At  first  sight,  it  looked  as  if  he  had  hung  himself  from 
a  bed  post. 

The  first  report  of  the  jail  authorities  called  it  "suicide." 
There  was  another  investigation,  and  three  physicians,  Dr. 
Socquet,  Dr.  Dervieux  and  Dr.  Vibert  visited  the  prison.  The 
body  was  found  laid  upon  a  bed.  It  was  covered  with  a  sheet 
which  stretched  from  head  to  foot. 

"Lift  up  the  sheet",  ordered  Dr.  Dervieux. 

A  guard  pulled  back  the  cloth  to  the  knees. 

"Lift  up  the  sheet,"  repeated  the  doctor. 

Even  more  slowly  the  guard  obeyed.     The  thighs,  the 
breast  were  exposed. 

"Come,  come  ,"  cried  the  doctor,  losing  all  patience  with 


Almereyda's   Tragic   End 

"Was   he   a   suicide,   or   was   he   murdered  that  he  might  not   reveal   the 

inmost  secrets  of  the  Great  Conspiracy?     His   death,   like   his   life,   was 

in  violation  of  the  laws  of  God  and  Man." 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  195 

the  hesitancy  of  the  jailer.  "Take  off  the  sheet.  Take  it 
off." 

The  body  was  now  fully  exposed.  The  doctors  looked  closer 
and  discovered  around  the  neck  a  thin  black  line,  where  a 
cord  had  been  drawn  so  tightlythat  it  had  nearly  cut  through 
the  flesh.  It  was  in  the  very  same  place,  where  Almereyda 
once  wore  the  ribbon  of  the  Black  Cross. 

"Murder  or  suicide?"  asked  the  doctors  of  each  other.  All 
shook  their  heads.  The  jailer  again  explained  that  the  body 
was  found  hanging  to  the  bed,  but  the  doctors  listened  to  the 
story  in  silence. 

Almereyda's  death  was  like  his  life.  Both  violated  the  laws 
of  God  and  man.  Whether  he  was  murdered  or  committed 
suicide,  his  story  died  with  him. 


•CHAPTER  XVI 

ALMEREYDA'S  SPECTRE  AROUSES  FRANCE 

Daudet  Calls  Malvy  Traitor — Painleve  Seeks  To  Drop 
Scandal — Raids  on  Daudet' s  Newspaper — Bolshevik  Tri- 
umph in  Russia  Excites  French  Socialists — France  Beset 
With  Greater  Perils — Clemenceau,  Man  of  The  Hour — At 
Last  Called  to  Premiership — Demand  Caillaux  Be  Tried 

The  tragedy  of  Almereyda's  death  aroused  the  nation  to 
demand  still  more  insistently  that  the  traitors  of  France  be 
punished.  A  storm  of  public  censure  at  last  drove  Malvy  out 
of  office.  He  resigned,  as  Minister  of  the  Interior,  on  August 
31,  1917. 

The  Bonnet  Rouge  gang  was  panic  striken.  Duval  was 
arrested  two  days  after  Almereyda's  death.  Goldsky  and 
Landau  were  put  in  jail  on  September  24 ;  and  five  days  later 
Bolo  Pacha,  while  dining  at  the  Grand  Hotel,  just  across 
from  the  Opera  in  the  center  of  Paris,  was  informed  he  too 
must  go  to  prison. 

But  the  power  of  Malvy,  though  out  of  office,  remained 
tremendously  strong.  His  socialistic  followers  refused  to 
believe  the  stories  about  him.  The  socialistic  newspapers 
kept  emphasizing  the  statement  of  Clemenceau,  that  Malvy 
could  not  be  charged  with  high  treason,  but  neglect  of  duty : 
and  the  question  of  duty,  they  said,  was  a  very  broad  one. 

Premier  Painleve,  who  succeeded  Ribot,  Sept.  10,  1917, 
took  a  weak,  irresolute  attitude.  It  looked  as  if  the  myster- 
ious influence  of  Caillaux  would  hush  up  the  scandal,  until 
Leon  Daudet  again  took  up  the  fight,  He  said  that  after 

196 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  197 

Malvy  had  been  admitted  to  the  Council  of  War,  the  enemy 
was  obtaining  French  war  secrets  and  defeating  the  French 
armies  with  unfailing  success.  Finally,  Daudet  wrote  the 
following  letter  to  President  Poincare: 

"I  address  myself  to  you  because  it  is  important  that  you 
should  be  informed  of  what  no  longer  is  a  secret;  also  be- 
cause you  have  a  great  role  to  play  and  can  save  France. 

"M.  Malvy,  former  Minister  of  the  Interior,  is  a  traitor. 
He  has  betrayed  the  national  defense  for  three  years  with  the 
complicity  of  M.  Leymarie  and  some  others.  Proofs  of  this 
treason  superabound.  It  would  be  too  long  a  story  to  lay 
them  before  you.  Be  assured  only  that  M.  Malvy  has  kept 
Germany  fully  informed  of  all  our  military  and  diplomatic 
plans,  notably  through  the  gang  of  spies  of  the  Bonnet 
Rouge,  through  his  friend  Vigo  (Almereyda)  and  through 
one  Souter,  Director  of  the  Maggi  Kub,  (Az  Beef  Extract 
Company). 

"It  was  thus  the  German  High  Command  knew,  point  by 
point,  the  plan  to  attack  the  Chemins  des  Dames.  See  the 
Spanish  newspaper,  A.  B.  C.  of  July  23,  1917.  When  Malvy 
was  admitted  to  the  Council  of  War  it  was  with  applause  from 
the  Bonnet  Rouge. 

"Know  also  that  documents  of  indisputable  authority  show 
the  hand  of  M.  Malvy  and  of  the  Surete  Generde  in  the  mil- 
itary mutinies  and  the  tragic  events  of  June,  1917. 

"It  lies  with  you  Mr.  President,  to  verify  these  accusations 
by  a  rapid  investigation,  which  will  be  an  easy  matter  for  you, 
and  to  do  prompt  justice,  for  it  is  reported  that  Germany, 
to  demoralize  the  public  still  further,  is  prepared  to  abandon 
M.  Malvy  in  a  short  time  as  useless  to  her  cause. 

"The  only  means  to  destroy  the  German  plans,  therefore, 
is  to  act  and  bring  before  the  military  tribunals  the  wretch 
who  has  delivered  France  morsel  by  morsel  to  the  enemy, 

"Anyway,  fulfilling  what  I  believe  is  my  duty  as  a  French* 


198  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

man   with   regards   to   you,   Mr.    President,   I   would   wish 
to  fix  a  date  with  a  view  to  later  eventualities,  and  remain 

"Very  respectfully  yours 

"Leon  Daudet." 

President  Poincare  immediately  asked  Malvy  for  an  ex- 
planation, and  Malvy  on  October  4,  1918,  went  before  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies,  and  asked  that  Poincare  read  Daudet's 
letter.  In  a  frenzied  speech  Malvy  branded  Daudet  as  a 
vicious  slanderer.  Premier  Painleve  promised  the  Chamber 
that  Daudet  would  be  obliged  to  prove  his  words.  The  Min- 
ister of  Justice,  M.  Peret,  instead  of  leaping  at  the  opport- 
unity of  aiding  Daudet,  said  that  the  law,  as  it  then  stood, 
made  it  impossible  to  prosecute  Daudet,  but  that  he  would 
undertake  to  introduce  a  bill,  "making  impossible  a  repetition 
of  such  slanderous  acts,  which  sowed  distrust  and  pessimism 
throughout  the  country." 

On  top  of  this  statement  from  the  Minister  of  Justice,  and 
the  very  next  day  after  Daudet's  letter  was  read  in  the 
Chamber,  his  newspaper  offices  were  raided,  and  the  edition 
of  r Action  Franfaise  for  Oct.  5,  was  seized. 

Meantime,  such  papers  as  Le  Pays,  a  pro  Caillaux  organ, 
kept  insisting  that  Daudet  was  simply  trying  to  discredit 
democratic  institutions.  They  said  that  through  his  attacks 
on  Malvy,  Daudet  hoped  to  overthrow  the  republic  and  again 
enthrone  the  royalists.  Whether  or  not  Painleve  listened  to 
these  politicial  sirens,  he  at  all  events  steered  the  Ship  of 
State  toward  the  rocks.  He  decided  to  let  Malvy  escape.  On 
October  15,  1917,  he  reported  to  his  Cabinet  that  all  the  ac- 
cusations against  the  former  Minister  of  the  Interior,  whether 
of  communicating  military  and  diplomatic  documents  to  the 
enemy  or  of  complicity  in  military  disturbances  were  quite 
unfounded. 

The  government,  he  asserted,  was  detirmined  not  to  inter- 
fere or  to  tolerate  interference  with  judicial  proceedure.  In 
other  words,  Painleve  persisted  in  following  the  laissez  faire 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  199 

policy  of  his  predecessors  and  "let  the  traitors  catch  them- 
selves" as  one  French  critic  expressed  it. 

Painleve's  attitude  was  characterized  by  Daudet  as  "stupi- 
fying." 

"On  the  one  hand,"  he  wrote,  "the  Premier  usurps  the 
judicial  authority,  which  is  alone  competent  to  handle  this 
matter,  and  declares  my  charges  unfounded.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  affirms  that  he  is  resolved  not  to  encroach  on  that 
same  authority,  which  he  tramples  under  foot." 

Painleve  reply  to  Daudet's  criticisms  took  the  form  of 
another  raid  on  the  offices  of  V Action  Franfaise.  On  Oct- 
ober 28,  the  police  descended  upon  the  editor,  seized  five  re- 
volvers,a  few  other  firearms  and  a  dagger,  which  decorated 
the  walls,  and  then  rummaged  through  Daudet's  desks.  The 
director  of  the  judicial  police  submitted  his  report  to  the 
Minister  of  Justice,  who  had  already  attacked  Daudet  as  a 
slanderer,  and  as  a  result  the  following  official  communique 
was  issued: 

"Searches  were  carried  out  last  evening  which  resulted  in 
the  seizure  of  a  quantity  of  arms  which  came  under  the  pro- 
hibition instituted  since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  as  well  as 
documents  of  great  importance.  An  investigation  has  been 
begun  of  movements  tending  to  provoke  civil  war  by  arming 
citizens  against  one  another." 

These  charges  against  Daudet  were  proved  preposterous, 
and  Painleve  was  cartooned  as  the  modern  Don  Quixote. 

The  most  serious  blow  at  the  Painleve  ministry,  however, 
was  the  connection  finally  revealed  between  Sergeant  Paix- 
Seailles,  an  assistant  in  the  Premier's  own  office,  and  Al- 
mereyda.  On  Nov.  6,  Captain  Mangin  Bocquet,  Judge  Ad- 
vocate, attached  to  the  second  Paris  court  martial,became 
dissatisfied  with  the  explanation  of  Paix-Seailles,  concerning 
his  connections  with  the  Bonnet  Rouge,  and  formally 
charged  him  with  communicating  to  a  newspaper  the  letters 
and  reports  of  General  Sarrail. 


200  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

On  the  following  day,  November  7,  the  Bolsheviks  over- 
threw Russia  and  placed  Lenine  in  supreme  command  in  Pet- 
rograd.  The  news  spread  through  France  like  wild  fire.  The 
socialists,  who  had  been  somewhat  cowed  by  the  resignation 
of  Malvy,  the  death  of  Almereyda  and  the  arrest  of  most  of 
his  associates,  paid  no  heed  to  the  Paix-Seailles  affair  and 
began  their  propaganda  anew. 

Among  the  French  troops  renewed  efforts  were  made  to 
start  a  proletariat  revolution.  The  following  poster  also 
appeared  in  nearly  all  the  munition  plants : 

"Our  Peace  Terms: 

"We  propose  to  the  workers  that  they  reflect  upon  the 
conditions  of  peace  which  we  propose  and  that  they  discuss 
them. 

"Explain  to  the  soldiers  that  they  will  be  able  to  secure  a 
democratic  and  durable  peace.  The  soldiers  of  all  the  warring 
nations  should  follow  the  advice  of  Liebknecht,  when  he  asked 
them  to  turn  their  arms  against  their  own  government,  advice 
for  which  he  had  been  condemned  to  hard  labor. 

"The  workingman,  with  arms  in  his  hands,  should  break  the 
power  of  the  bureaucratic  and  militaristic  state,  overthrow 
the  government  heads,  arrest  those  in  public  power,  and  form 
a  government  composed  of  the  representatives  of  the  pro- 
letariat. The  Commune  of  Paris  in  1871  and  the  Council  of 
Workingmen's  Delegates  in  1905  in  certain  cities  of  Russia, 
were  governments  of  this  kind. 

"These  workingmen's  governments  should  take  possession 
of  all  the  banks  and  of  all  undertakings  of  importance,  and 
institute,  with  an  energy  equal  to  that  displayed  by  the 
capitalists  at  the  present  time,  the  mobilization  of  the  pro- 
letariat." 

The  dangers  confronting  France  now  became  so  alarming, 
that  the  public  insisted  more  than  ever  that  Clemenceau,  who 
had  long  urged  the  most  relentless  warfare  against  the  enemy 
within,  be  made  Premier.  On  November  18,  1917,  Painlev£ 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  201 

fell.  Despite  his  own  personal  prejudices,  President  Poincare 
heeded  the  voice  of  the  people  and  placed  Clemenceau  in 
command.  Instantly  the  "Tiger"  made  good  his  promise. 
Not  only  did  he  seek  by  every  possible  means  to  strengthen 
and  encourage  the  armies  of  the  republic  to  redouble  the 
fight  against  the  invader,  but  he  ordered  a  most  searching 
investigation  of  all  the  plots  of  internal  disruption. 

"Death  for  the  traitors",  became  one  of  the  slogans  of  the 
new  administration. 

The  situation,  however,  was  extremely  critical.  The  power 
of  Caillaux  and  Malvy,  the  dangers  of  socialistic  ferment, 
which  had  frightened  his  predecessors,  menaced  Clemenceau 
from  the  very  beginning.  Many  predicted  that  he  could  not 
possibly  wage  two  wars,  the  one  within,  the  other  without. 

In  his  book,  "Clemenceau",  Gustave  Geffroy,  president  of 
the  Academy  Goncourt,  and  one  of  Clemenceau's  life  long 
friends,  writes  of  this  perilous  period  as  follows: 

"Clemenceau  left  his  newspaper  to  take  the  first  place  in 
the  Cabinet.  He  became  Premier  and  Minister  of  War  after 
the  third  year  of  the  conflict.  He  entered  office  under  diffi- 
cult and  critical  circumstances. 

"The  events  in  Russia  had  changed  the  conditions  of  war 
by  liberating  numerous  German  corps  of  the  Eastern  Army. 
The  fatigue  of  the  trenches  and  of  battles  without  visible 
results  had  been  anticipated  by  Germany,  and  her  pacifist 
or  defaitiste  propaganda  had  been  pushed  with  still  greater 
vigor,  aided  by  the  criminal  intrigues  of  some  and  the  culp- 
able disinterestedness  of  others. 

"Serious  riots  had  demoralized  in  certain  places  the  dis- 
cipline of  the  army.  This  nefarious  propaganda  was  carried 
on  throughout  France.  Clemenceau,  who  had  already  warn- 
ed the  government  and  the  Parliament  of  the  dangers  of  the 
situation  during  secret  sessions,  made  up  his  mind  to  publish 
his  criticisms  and  his  warnings,  and  he  did  so  in  his  speech 
of  July  22,  1917  in  the  Senate. 


202  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"This  energetic  intervention  brought  Clemenceau  into  con- 
trol of  the  Government.  Without  further  details,  I  may  say 
that  Clemenceau,  in  devoting  himself  utterly  to  waging  war 
without  and  within,  in  letting  the  civilian  and  military  courts 
of  justice  to  be  free  to  inquire  into  all  offences  and  crimes,  in 
convincing  the  Allies  to  estabish  unity  of  command  at  the 
front,  in  persuading  England  to  send  over  to  France  a  new 
expeditionary  corps,  in  getting  America  to  hasten  the  trans- 
portation of  men,  food  and  munitions,  turned  the  tide  of  the 
war." 

Malvy  now  made  one  more  desperate  effort  to  escape.  Still 
a  deputy,  representing  the  Department  of  Lot,  he  believed  he 
still  had  enough  friends  in  public  life  to  trust  himself  to  their 
mercies.  On  November  22,  therefore,  he  asked  that  he  be  sent 
before  the  Senate,  sitting  as  a  High  Court,  and  tried  on  the 
charge  of  treason. 

"It  was  a  theatrical  effort,"  said  La  Revue  des  Causes 
Celebres.  "M.  Malvy  might  have  dragged  those,  whom  he 
considered  his  'calumniators',  into  a  criminal  court,  but  he 
preferred  to  address  himself  to  a  political  tribunal."  After  a 
very  tumultuous  and  passionate  discussion,  M.  Louis  Nail, 
Keeper  of  the  Seals,  declared  that  it  was  the  clear  wish  of 
the  government  to  know,  as  soon  as  possible,  the  entire  truth. 
Thereupon,  the  Chamber  decided  to  convene  immediately  and 
appoint  a  commission  of  thirty  men.  This  was  done.  Upon 
a  report  of  M.  Louis  Puech,  the  resolution  was  voted  that 
same  day. 

Six  days  later,  on  November  28,  after  a  nine  hour  tum- 
ultuous session,  the  Chamber  voted  unanimously  that  Malvy 
be  sent  to  the  High  Court. 

Premier  Clemenceau  intervened  in  the  debate  only  long 
enough  to  show  that  new  scandals  were  being  unearthed  at 
every  turn  of  the  investigation  of  Malvy's  administration. 

"Only  two  days  ago,"  he  said,  "an  altogether  new  Bolo 
dossier  was  discovered  tucked  away  at  Police  Headquarters." 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  203 

Before  Malvy  could  be  placed  on  trial,  Clemenceau  struck 
again.  At  last  he  threw  the  light  of  inquisition  upon  the 
mysterious,  lurking  figure  behind  Malvy,  and  brought  out 
into  clear  relief  the  hypnotic  face  of  Caillaux. 

On  December  10,  the  Premier  informed  his  Cabinet  that 
evidence  had  been  obtained,  which  made  necessary  the  prose- 
cution of  Malvy's  master  for  conspiring  with  the  enemy.  In 
various  official  circles  it  was  also  rumored  that  Almereyda's 
strong  box  had  been  discovered  and  in  it  had  been  found  new 
proof  against  Caillaux.  Two  days  later,  Dec.  12,  a  report 
addressed  to  the  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  by 
General  Dubail,  the  Military  Governor  of  Paris,  was  made 
public,  which  revealed  Caillaux  as  having  been  in  constant 
touch  with  Bolo  Pacha  and  practically  all  of  the  Bonnet 
Rouge  gang.  The  report  asked  authorization  to  prosecute 
Caillaux.  The  effect  upon  some  of  the  socialist  members  of 
the  Chamber  was  stupefying. 

"The  intrigues  of  Caillaux  tended  to  disrupt  the  Allies 
and  precipitate  a  premature,  dishonorable  peace  with  Ger- 
many" said  General  Dubail.  "Investigations  of  various 
persons  accused  of  communication  and  commerce  with  the 
enemy  have  discovered  in  the  possession  of  nearly  all  a  great 
number  of  letters  from  Caillaux. 

"The  examination  of  this  correspondence  is  singularly  dis- 
turbing, and  necessity  requires  that  it  should  be  brought 
to  the  attention  of  justice.  It  is  a  serious  matter,  that  a 
statesman  of  such  importance  as  Joseph  Caillaux,  who  has 
occupied  the  highest  positions  of  state,  who  has  had  the 
honor  of  directing  the  policy  of  his  country  and  has  assumed 
willingly  the  leadership  of  a  great  party,  should  maintain 
close  and  intimate  relations,  which  cannot  be  denied,  with 
French  or  foreign  adventurers,  whose  actions  and  tendencies 
since  the  beginning  of  the  war  render  them  objects  of  sus- 
picion to  the  least  informed  minds. 


204  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"The  correspondence  seized  in  the  Bolo  Pacha  investigation 
is  particularly  suggestive. 

"In  the  house  of  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  where  the  safes  were 
full  of  German  money,  Caillaux  counted  many  friends.  He 
was  in  correspondence,  for  example,  with  Jacques  Landau, 
and  he  aided  by  gift  of  money  the  founding  of  the  'Tranchee 
Republicaine'.  He  received  at  his  home  at  Mamers,  M.  Duval, 
business  manager  of  the  'Bonnet  Rouge',  M.  Marion  ad- 
ministrator of  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  and  manager  of  the 
*Courrier  Viticole',  M.  Landau  and  M.  Goldsky,  all  connected 
with  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  scandal.  The  whole  band  went  from 
Paris  in  an  automobile  to  visit  him." 

The  letters  which  Caillaux  wrote  Bolo  were  quoted  by 
General  Dubail  to  show  that  the  former  Premier  wanted  to 
talk  with  Bolo  about  his  trip  to  America. 

In  a  letter  to  Bolo  from  Rome,  dated  Oct.  29,  1916,  Caill- 
aux wrote : 

"Soon,  dear  friend,  I  must  talk  seriously  with  you  of  a 
great  many  things." 

There  were  three  charges  on  which  General  Dubail  asked 
authority  to  prosecute  Caillaux,  namely. 

Endangering  the  safety  of  the  state  by  acts  tending  to 
compromise  the  alliances  concluded  between  France  and  for- 
eign powers. 

Entering  into  treasonable  relations  with  the  enemy. 

Disseminating  peace  propaganda  which  demoralized  the 
Allies  and  aided  the  foe. 

The  accusations  fall  under  articles  76,  77,  78  and  79  of 
the  Penal  Code,  which  make  it  a  death  penalty  "to  conspire 
or  have  dealings  with  foreign  powers  or  their  agents  or  to 
conspire  with  the  enemy  to  weaken  the  fidelity  of  officers, 
soldiers  and  sailors." 

Deputy  Louis  Loustalot  was  also  involved  in  General 
Dubail's  charges.  He  was  said  to  have  served  as  an  inter- 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  205 

mediary  between  Caillaux  and  Cavallini.  Dubail  also  asked 
leave  to  prosecute  Loustalot. 

The  hour  this  happened  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  Cail- 
laux was  at  Mamers,  presiding  at  a  lecture  on  the  origin  of 
the  war.  From  the  platform  he  was  called  to  the  telephone. 

"General  Dubail  has  asked  the  Chamber  that  your  parlia- 
mentary immunity  be  waived,"  said  the  voice  at  the  other  end. 
"He  asks  the  same  for  Loustalot,  that  you  both  may  be 
prosecuted." 

Caillaux  did  not  ask  for  details,  but  jumping  into  his  auto- 
mobile he  commanded  the  chauffeur  to  make  all  possible  speed 
for  Paris. 


NOTE 

To  understand  still  more  clearly  the  extraordinary  power 
of  Malvy  in  remaining  in  a  Cabinet  position,  although  all 
other  heads  of  departments  were  constantly  going  and  com- 
ing, one  should  examine  the  following  list  of  Ministers. 
Here  may  be  found  the  names  of  all  the  men  in  control 
of  the  French  government  both  before  and  during  the 
war ;  and  among  them  always  in  the  same  office,  always  Minis- 
ter of  the  Interior,  was  Louis  J.  Malvy.  Not  until  we  reach 
the  Painleve  Cabinet,  organized  more  than  three  years  after 
the  declaration  of  war,do  we  fail  to  find  this  hitherto  in- 
vulnerable friend  of  the  foe. 

Malvy  first  became  a  Cabinet  officer  in  1911  under  Premier 
Monis.  Only  these  Cabinets  which  immediately  preceeded  or 
existed  during  the  war  are  given.  They  are: 

THE  DOUMERGUE  CABINET,  Organized,  March  18, 
1914. 

Premier  and  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Gaston  Doum- 
ergue. 

MINISTER  OF  THE  INTERIOR  :  Louis  J.  MALVY 


206  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Minister  of  Justice:  M.  Bienvenu — Martin 
Minister  of  War :  Joseph  J.  P.  F.  Noulens 
Minister  of  Marine :  Ernest  Monis 
Minister  of  Finance:  Rene  Renoult 
Minister  of  Public  Instruction :  Ren6  Viviani 
Minister  of  Commerce :  Raoul  Peret 
Minister  of  Public  Works :  Fernand  David 
Minister  of  Colonies:  Albert  F.  Lebrun 
Minister  of  Agriculture :  Maurice  Raynaud 
Minister  of  Labor:  Albert  Metin 

THE  VIVIANI  CABINET,  Organized,  June  13,  1914. 

Premier  and  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Rene  Viviani 

MINISTER  OF  THE  INTERIOR,  Louis  J.  MALVY 

Minister  of  Justice,  M.  Bienvenu — Martin 

Minister  of  War,  Adolphe  Messimy 

Minister  of  Marine,  Armand  E.  Gauthier 

Minister  of  Finance,  Joseph  J.  P.  F.  Noulens 

Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  Victor  Augagneur 

Minister  of  Commerce,  Gaston  Thomson 

Minister  of  Public  Works,  Rene  Renoult 

Minister  of  Colonies,  Maurice  Raynaud 

Minister  of  Agriculture,  Fernand  David 

Minister  of  Labor,  Charles  Couyba 

THE  VIVIANI  CABINET,  Reorganized  August  26,  1914 

Premier  without  Portfolio,  Rene  Viviani 

Vice  President  and  Secretary  of  Justice,  Aristide  Briand 

MINISTER  OF  THE  INTERIOR,  Louis  J.  MALVY 

Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Theophile  Delcass6 

Minister  of  Finance,  Alexandre  Ribot 

Minister  of  War,  Alexandre  Millerand 

Minister  of  Marine,  Victor  Augagneur 

Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  Albert  Sarraut 

Minister  of  Public  Works,  Marcel  Sembat 

Minister  of  Commerce,  Gaston  Thomson 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  207 

Minister  of  Colonies,  Gaston  Doumergue 
Minister  of  Agriculture,  Ferdinand  David 
Minister  of  Labor,  M.  Bienvcnu — Martin 
Minister  without  portfolio,  Jules  Guesde 

THE    BRIAND    CABINET,   Organized,   December   12, 

1916 

Premier  and  Foreign  Minister,  Aristide  Briand 

MINISTER  OF  THE  INTERIOR,  Louis  J.  MALVY 

Minister  of  War,  General  Lyautey 

Minister  of  Marine,  Admiral  Lacaze 

Minister  of  Finance,  Alexandre  Ribot 

Minister  of  National  Manufactures  (including  Munitions 

and  Transportation),  Albert  Thomas 

Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  Paul  Painleve 

Minister  of  Commerce  and  Agriculture,  Etienne  Clementel 

Minister  of  National  Subsistence    and    Labor,    Edouard 

Herriot 

Minister  of  Colonies,  Gaston  Doumergue 

Minister  of  Justice  and  Public  Works,  Rene  Viviani 

THE    BRIAND   CABINET,   Reorganized   October   29, 
1915. 

Premier  and  Foreign  Minister,  Aristide  Briand 
Ministers  without  portfolios,  Charles  de  Freycinet,  Leon 
Bourgeois,    Emile    Combes,    Jules    Guesde,    Denis    Cochin 
MINISTER  OF  THE  INTERIOR,  Louis  J.  MALVY 
Minister  of  War,  General  Gallieni 
Minister  of  Marine,  Admiral  Lacaze 
Minister  of  Finance,  Alexandre  Ribot 
Minister  of  Justice,  Rene  Viviani 
Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  Paul  Painleve" 
Minister  of  Commerce,  Etienne  Clementel 
Minister  of  Agriculture,  Jules  Meline 
Minister  of  Public  Works,  Marcel  Sembat 
Minister  of  Labor,  Albert  Metin 


208  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Minister  of  Colonies,  Gaston  Douraergue 

THE  RIBOT  CABINET.  Organized  March  19,1917 

Premier  and  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Alexandre  Ribot 

MINISTER  OF  THE  INTERIOR,  Louis  J.  MALVY 

Minister  of  War,  Paul  Painleve 

Minister  of  Marine,  Admiral  Lacaze 

Minister  of  Finance,  Joseph  Thierry 

Minister  of  Munitions,  Albert  Thomas 

Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  Jules  Steeg 

Minister  of  Public  Works,  Georges  Desplas 

Minister  of  Commerce,  Etienne  Clementel 

Minister  of  Agriculture,  Fernand  David 

Minister  of  Subsistence,  Maurice  Violette 

Minister  of  Labor,  Leon  Bourgeois 

Minister  of  Colonies,  Andre  Maginot 

Malvy  resigned  August  31,  1917.    The  cabinets  following 
his  resignation  were: 

THE  PAINLEVE  CABINET,  Organized,  Sept.  15, 1917. 

Premier  and  Minister  of  War,  Paul  Painleve 

Minister  of  the  Interior,  Jules  Steeg 

Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Alexandre  Ribot 

Minister  of  Marine,  Charles  Chaumet 

Minister  of  Munitions,  Louis  Loucheur 

Minister  of  Finance,  Louis  L.  Klotz 

Minister  of  Transports,  Albert  Claveille 

Minister  of  Labor,  Andre  Renard 

Minister  of  Subsistence,  Maurice  Long 

Minister  of  Colonies  Rene  Besnard 

Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  Daniel  Vincent 

Minister  of  Commerce,  Etienne  Clementel 

Minister  of  Agriculture,  Fernand  David 

Minister  of  Missions  Abroad,  Henry  Franklin  Pouillon 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  209 

THE  CLEMENCEAU  CABINET,  Organized  Nov.  16, 
1917 

Premier  and  Minister  of  War,  Georges  Clemenceau 

Minister  of  the  Interior,  Jules  Pams 

Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Stephen  Picljon 

Minister  of  Marine,  Georges  Leygues 

Minister  of  Munitions,  Louis  Loucheur 

Minister  of  Finance,  Louis  L.  Klotz 

Minister  of  Justice,  Louis  Nail 

Minister  of  Labor,  M.  Colliard 

Minister  of  Agriculture  and  Supplies,  Victor  Boret 

Minister  of  Colonies,  Henri  Simon 

Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  Louis  Laferre 

Minister  of  Public  Works,  Albert  Claveille 

Minister  of  Commerce,  Industry,  Posts  and  Telegraphs, 
Etienne  Clementel 

Minister  of  Blockade  and  Liberated  Territories,  Albert  F. 
Lebrun 


CHAPTER  XVII 
"THE  HALL  OF  LOST  FOOTSTEPS". 

The  fateful  Chamber  of  Deputies — Caillaux  Fights  His  Ac- 
cusers— A  Master  of  Camouflage,  He  Paints  the  Blackest 
Charges  With  All  the  Colors  of  Explanation — Strikes  at 
Clemenceau.  Asks  the  "Tiger"  If  He  Remembers  When  He 
Also  Was  Called  Traitor — Caillaux  Arrested — His  New 
Life  Behind  the  Iron  Bars  of  La  Sante 

The  Chamber  of  Deputies  is  sometimes  called  "The  Hall  of 
Lost  Footsteps."  Within  its  portals  there  have  been  many 
goings  and  comings,  many  secret  meetings,  many  whispered 
interviews  in  out  of  the  way  corners,  many  wires  leading 
away  to  the  Bourse  and  the  financial  exchanges  of  London, 
Berlin  and  New  York,  many  ears  listening  to  the  voices  of 
ambition,  intrigue,  avarice,  deceit,  corruption  and  treason, 
which  are  all  lost  to  the  casual  visitor. 

Standing  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Seine,  looking  across  the 
river  at  the  obelisk  and  statuted  fountains  of  the  Place  de  la 
Concorde,this  fateful  edifice  has  lifted  many  a  man  from 
the  obscure  walks  of  private  life  to  places  of  power  and  fame. 
And  it  has  also  cast  many  a  man  down  into  the  depths  of 
disgrace  and  dishonor. 

In  its  tympanum  above  the  twelve  columns  of  its  facade 
facing  the  river  may  be  seen  the  figure  of  France  with  the 
Constitution,  attended  by  Liberty,  Order,  Commerce,  and 
Peace.  Yet  beneath  these  sculptured  emblems,  many  a  man 
has  plotted  to  enslave  liberty,  to  overthrow  order,  to  destroy 
commerce,  and  to  seek  peace,  when  peace  meant  degredation 
and  defeat. 

210 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  211 

Through  the  corridors  of  "The  Hall  of  Lost  Footsteps" 
on  the  day  after  his  connections  with  Bolo  and  the  Bonnet 
Rouge  traitors  had  been  revealed,  Caillaux  strode  with  a  de- 
fiant step.  Within  these  walls  he  had  often  parried  many  a 
thrust,  overthrown  many  an  adversary  who  sought  to  point 
him  out  as  the  evil  genius  of  France,  and  again  he  came  pre- 
pared to  strike  down  any  and  all  who  dared  stand  in  his  way. 

Caillaux  was  still  a  deputy.  He  still  represented  the 
Department  of  the  Sarthe.  He  accordingly  possessed  par- 
liamentary inimunity,and  until  his  colleagues  voted  to  take 
it  away  from  him,  he  could  not  be  prosecuted  for  the  high 
crimes  with  which  he  had  been  charged.  Among  the  members 
of  the  Chamber  he  still  counted  a  formidable  following, 
which  he  had  bound  to  himself  through  all  the  expedients  of 
political  favor  and  patronage,  of  which  he  was  master. 
Many  of  these  satellites  now  gathered  around  and  asked 
him  if  he  would  fight  to  preserve  his  parliamentary  immunity. 

"No,"  he  replied.  "I  want  to  be  tried.  I  want  justice.  I 
wish  I  had  been  here  yesterday.  I  would  have  leaped  to  the 
platform  of  the  House  and  defied  my  accusers.  As  soon  as 
I  can,  I  will  tear  all  these  lies  to  tatters.  I  will  explain  every- 
thing." 

On  December  22,  Caillaux's  opportunity  came.  The  Cham- 
ber was  crowded,  and  not  a  few  said  it  made  them  think  of 
the  trial  chamber  in  which  his  wife  once  sat  and  heard  her- 
self called  a  murderess.  The  galleries  were  filled  long  before 
9  o'clock,  and  all  chatted  nervously  while  waiting  for  the  pro- 
ceedings to  begin.  Not  a  few  women  pressed  black  bordered 
handkerchiefs  to  their  eyes,  as  they  looked  down  on  the 
vacant  seats  below,  where  here  and  there  great  mounds  of 
flowers  told  of  war  and  death,  of  those  who  would  never  more 
return  to  the  seats  of  council. 

When  at  last  President  Deschanel's  bell  rang  intense  silence 
ensued.  The  only  sound  was  the  half  stifled  sobbing  of 
a  woman  in  the  gallery  which  caused  several  deputies 


212  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

below  to  look  up  wonderingly.  After  M.  Paisant  explained 
the  findings  of  the  investigating  committee,  Deputy  Lousta- 
lot  in  a  faltering  voice  read  his  declaration  of  innocence.  He 
was  just  about  to  sit  down,  when  Caillaux  marched  in,  head 
up,  shoulders  back,  eyes  snapping,  bravely  swinging  one 
arm  and  carrying  a  bundle  of  documents  under  the  other. 
He  looked  as  if  he  burned  to  get  into  the  fight,  and  yet  when 
his  time  finally  came,  when  at  last  he  faced  his  colleagues,  his 
voice  died  away  and  his  eyes  grew  hollow. 

"Louder,  louder,"  cried  the  socialist  Left.  The  royalist 
Right  and  the  Center  remained  absolutely  silent.  From  the 
government  bench  Premier  Clemenceau  strained  to  hear  every 
word.  His  face  was  as  impassive  as  the  wall  behind  him. 

After  straightening  out  again  the  mass  of  documents  be- 
fore him,  Caillaux  continued: 

"I  know  that  I  am  not  accused  of  having  commited  this 
offense  for  money.  No  one  has  spoken  of  Judas's  thirty 
pieces  of  silver.  I  have  been  spared  that  humiliation.  But 
there  has  been  talk  of  disreputable  combinations,  of  myster- 
ious intrigues  to  sever  France  from  her  Allies. 

"Such  charges  are  false.  With  all  my  soul,  with  all  my 
strength,  with  all  my  being  I  deny  them." 

From  point  to  point  in  his  carefully  planned  defense,  Cail- 
laux proceeded.  He  had  soon  apparently  regained  all  his 
old  time  masterfulness.  He  plainly  appreciated  the  frequent 
cheers  from  the  socialist  Left.  He  first  spoke  of  Bolo.  He 
admitted  that  he  knew  him,  that  he  had  breakfasted  and  dined 
with  him,  that  he  had  written  him  letters,  but  it  signified 
nothing.  He  said  he  had  given  money  to  the  Bonnet  Rouge, 
but  added : 

"It  was  my  duty  to  do  so.  It  was  before  the  war,  when 
I  was  made  the  object  of  a  campaign  as  terrible  as  the  one 
waged  against  me  today.  I  was  compelled  to  defend  my 
honor  and  the  very  life  of  the  one  closest  me." 

A  murmur  swept  over  the  galleries.     It  seemed  almost 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  213 

ready  to  break  forth  in  a  storm  of  cheers  and  hisses,  of 
praise  and  fury,  when  the  speaker  averted  such  an  outburst 
by  turning  to  another  theme.  He  told  of  the  insults,  which 
he  had  suffered  because  of  the  "calumnies"  heaped  upon  him, 
of  attempts  on  his  life,  as  the  result  of  which  his  wife  had 
become  a  nervous  wreck.  It  was  for  this  reason,  and  no 
other,  he  declared,  that  she  went  to  Italy  in  1916,  and  that 
he  joined  her  at  Monti  Cafini  and  accompanied  her  to  Flor- 
ence and  Rome. 

Cavallini,  he  said,  was  introduced  to  him  by  Deputy 
Loustalot,  as  a  man  interested  in  a  proposed  Franco-Italian 
bank.  He  knew  rothing  of  Cavallini's  shadowy  connections 
with  Bolo  or  his  crooked  record  of  earlier  days  in  Italy. 
Cavallini  took  a  letter  to  Mme.  Caillaux  in  Italy.  Yes,  but 
he  thought  at  the  time  it  was  proper.  The  man  had  been 
recommended  by  Loustalot,  and  Loustalot  was  one  of  his 
old  time  and  trusted  friends. 

For  everything,  Caillaux  had  an  excuse.  Over  the  black- 
est charges  against  him,  over  the  ugliest  accusations,  this 
master  of  camouflage  painted  all  the  colors  and  shades  of  ex- 
planation. That  he  had  plotted  to  tear  France  away  from 
her  allies  was  a  monstrous  lie,  he  cried. 

Several  deputies  called  attention  to  his  pro-German  record 
before  the  war.  Instantly,  Caillaux  threw  a  veil  of  apparent- 
ly perfect  patriotism  over  all  his  pro-German  activities.  He 
said: 

"I  did  not  favor  an  alliance  with  Germany.  Not  at  all.  I 
simply  advocated  a  policy  which  did  not  completely  exclude 
agreements  on  limited  and  clearly  understood  questions,  a 
policy  which  looked  to  a  friendly  understanding  between  the 
Great  Powers,  from  which  might  come  reparation  and  the 
rule  of  right,  for  which  we  have  been  waiting  since  1871. 
(Prolonged  cheers  from  the  Left) 

"That  was  a  difficult  policy  in  a  country,  where — and  it  is 
to  her  glory — there  is  such  keen  national  susceptibility,  that 


214  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

any  agreement  with  a  country  which  conquered  us  in  the  past, 
causes  thrills  of  horror.  No  matter  how  limited  the  entente 
may  be  or  how  honorable  the  agreement,  this  policy  finds  the 
most  hostile  opponents.  It  rests  upon  an  old  republican 
tradition  reaching  back  to  Gambetta,  and  among  those  who 
now  voice  it  loudest  is  M.  Clemenceau. 

"This  policy  was  smashed  by  the  events  of  1914.  The 
great  war  broke  out.  There  could  no  longer  be  any  philo- 
sophical conceptions  or  ideals.  The  patrie  was  in  danger. 
The  question  then  became  one  of  duty. 

"For  men  in  politics  who  are  still  young,  ardent,  active, 
there  are  several  courses  when  placed  in  power.  One  is  to 
watch  the  acts  of  the  government  and  from  the  tribune  to 
criticise  them  pitilessly.  Another  way  is  to  aid  with  all  one's 
strength  the  men  who  are  burdened  with  the  frightful  re- 
sponsibilities of  power.  I  adopted  this  second  attitude.  The 
only  reproach  that  can  be  leveled  at  me  is  not  that  I  talked 
too  much,  but  kept  my  ideas  too  much  to  myself. 

"When  events  become  the  masters  of  men,  is  it  forbidden  to 
see,  to  analyse,  to  give  advice?  Is  it  forbidden  to  demand 
better  organization  in  the  conduct  of  the  war,  strict  control 
and  less  waste  of  men  and  money?  Above  all,  is  it  forbidden 
to  discuss  peace,  to  assert  that  it  is  not  enough  merely  to 
wage  war,  but  that  we  must  also  prepare  for  peace,  a  popular, 
durable,  a  human  peace? 

"Cannot  one  even  think  with  President  Wilson  upon  the 
formula  of  peace  without  annexations,  without  penalizing  in- 
demnities and  with  the  right  of  peoples  to  dispose  of  their 
own  destinies? 

"Because  one  thinks  along  these  lines,  should  one  be 
branded  a  'defeatist'?  The  word  is  one  of  dishonor.  No 
Frenchman  ever  wished  for  defeat.  Of  that  I  am  certain.  Nor 
is  there  any  one — and  here  I  am  speaking  especially  about 
myself — who  ever  dreamed  of  breaking  a  French  alliance  in 
time  of  war,  most  of  all  of  turning  away  from  England, 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  215 

which  is  spontaneously  admired  by  all  democrats,  who  have 
come  to  understand  English  traditions  and  culture. 

"The  word,  'defeatism'  was  created  by  those  who  exploit 
scandal,  those  who  desire  to  make  a  religion  of  their  idea  of 
patriotism,  a  Geissler's  hat  before  which  some  people,  whom 
I  know,  will  refuse  to  bow. 

"Yes,  better  be  regarded  as  a  suspect,  better  the  road  to 
the  guillotine,  than  to  surrender  the  full  independence  of  one's 
personal  convictions  .at  the  command  of  a  State  religion  thus 
recreated."  (Volleys  of  applause  from  the  Left) 

Caillaux  looked  up  at  the  iron  features  of  Clemenceau.  He 
primed  himself  for  one  of  those  theatrical  effects  in  which  he 
had  so  often  won  success.  He  sought  also  to  stir  in  the 
depths  of  the  mind  of  Clemenceau  the  memory  of  the  day 
when  he  also  was  the  target  of  political  attack  and  some  said 
he  would  fall  never  to  rise  again. 

"Mr.  President  of  the  Council,"  said  Caillaux,  "permit 
one  of  your  former  collaborators  to  ask  how  the  memory  of 
the  past  affects  you  at  this  moment.  Surely  you  remember 
certain  tragic  sessions,when  you  were  accused  of  treason, 
when  you  were  assailed  in  passionate  speeches,  when  Deroulede 
sought  to  tear  you  to  pieces.  Do  you  want  to  resurrect  an- 
other brand  of  injustice? 

"You  honored  me  then  by  allowing  me  to  aid  you.  Yes, 
I  stood  by  you.  Have  you  forgot?  In  those  past  days  you 
evidenced  a  most  gracious  generosity.  Do  you  wish  to  throw 
all  that  aside  in  order  to  make  me  the  victim  of  another 
Dreyfus  affair? 

"It  is  easy  to  say  that  the  difficulties  of  a  country,  as 
glorious  as  ours,  are  only  due  to  treason.  But  heavy  is 
the  responsibility  of  those  who  would  use  such  an  opportunity 
to  become  demogogues  of  evil. 

"I  am  about  to  leave  this  tribune,  which  I  have  briefly  oc- 
cupied for  the  first  time  in  three  years.  When  shall  I  mount 
it  again?  You  are  going  to  deprive  me  of  my  parliamentary 


216  THE  ENEMY  WITHIS 

immunity.  I  myself  demand  it  of  you.  I  want  restitution  be- 
fore a  tribunal.  I  want  justice,  because  of  all  the  calumnies 
and  all  the  ignomies,  with  which  my  private  life  has  been 
befouled. 

"Far  from  resenting  your  action,  I  thank  you,  my  col- 
leagues, and  I  am  almost  tempted  to  thank  the  Government. 
I  demand  a  trial  so  that  my  voice  may  not  be  stifled  by  the 
rolling  tambour  of  another  Santerre. 

"I  shall  conclude  with  this  warning.  While  engaged  in  the 
Norton  affair  in  1885,  M.  Clemenceau  said,  'It  is  time  to  end 
this  cheap  play  acting.  When  you  sow  dissenison  among  our 
citizens  you  weaken  the  fatherland,  you  open  a  broad  road 
into  France  for  the  enemy.' ' 

As  Caillaux  took  his  seat,  his  followers  on  the  Left  again 
applauded,  as  in  the  old  days  of  Almereyda's  claque.  Many 
kept  staring  at  Clemenceau  to  see  if  the  subtle  dagger  of 
Caillaux's  irony  had  reached  the  heart  of  the  old  "Tiger". 
But  the  face  of  the  Premier  remained  as  completely  express- 
ionless as  ever.  Even  when  Francois  Fournier  called  upon 
him  to  speak,  he  showed  not  the  slightest  evidence  of  emotion, 
as  he  rose  and  said: 

"I  am  the  only  one  here  who  has  not  the  right  to  reply  to 
M.  Caillaux." 

The  Chamber  voted  418  to  2  that  Caillaux  should  stand 
trial. 

A  little  more  than  three  weeks  afterward,  the  Clemenceau 
government  received  from  Secretary  of  State  Lansing  at 
Washington  copies  of  Bernstorff's  cablegrams  to  Berlin  re- 
vealing Caillaux's  cooperation  with  the  enemy.  Meantime, 
the  Italian  police  had  turned  over  to  the  French  authorities 
the  tell  tale  papers  of  Caillaux's  secret  safe  in  Florence.  There 
was  a  hurried  conference  of  the  Cabinet,  and  Clemenceau's 
recommendation  that  Caillaux  should  immediately  be  placed 
behind  prison  bars  was  approved. 

Although  the  decision  to  arrest  Caillaux  was  reached  on 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  217 

the  afternoon  of  January  13,  it  was  thought  wise  not  to  put 
him  in  jail  until  the  next  morning.  It  was  learned  that  he 
had  planned  a  big  dinner  party,  and  as  one  of  the  Ministers 
at  the  conference  said: 

"Let  him  have  it.    He  may  never  have  another." 

At  7  p.  m.  the  warrant  of  arrest  was  delivered  to  the  police 
with  instructions  that  they  should  watch  Caillaux's  house  all 
night  and  arrest  him  the  first  thing  in  the  morning.  As  his 
guests  came  and  went  that  night  amid  the  strains  of  music 
and  the  sounds  of  song  and  laughter,  a  number  of  portentous 
figures  stood  guard  about  the  place.  But  Caillaux's  guests 
enjoyed  the  dinner  toe  much  to  notice  anything  else. 

Next  morning  at  eight  Police  Commissary  Priolet  and  a 
number  of  other  officers  in  a  heavy  motor  car  drew  up  before 
the  Caillaux  home  at  No.  22  Rue  Alphonse  de  Neuville.  The 
big  windows  were  closed  and  barred.  There  was  not  a  sign  of 
life  within. 

"Quite  a  dinner  they  had  last  night,"  remarked  Priolet,  as 
he  rang  for  admission.  Obtaining  no  response,  the  officers 
began  knocking  against  the  heavy  doors  of  the  entrance  and 
finally  they  brought  a  timid  maid  into  view.  "Go  way,  go 
way,"  she  exclaimed  with  all  the  necessary  indignation  of  a 
well  trained  servant.  "Go  way,  M.  Caillaux  is  still  in  bed." 

"Please  tell  M.  Caillaux,"  replied  the  Police  Commissary, 
"that  he  is  under  arrest." 

The  half  fainting  maid  took  the  message  upstairs,  and  on 
returning  she  most  graciously  invited  the  officers  in.  They 
waited  and  waited.  Caillaux  insisted  on  taking  his  customary 
bath  and  massage  and  have  his  valet  shave  and  dress  him.  He 
insisted  on  every  exquisite  detail  before  be  judged  his  toilette 
complete.  Meantime,  Mme.  Caillaux  entertained  the  officers 
in  the  sumptuous  drawing  room.  It  was  not  until  9.45  a.  m. 
that  the  master  of  the  house  presented  himself  to  the  police, 
his  valet  behind  him  carrying  a  beautiful  seal  skin  overcoat. 
His  protest  against  arrest  was  perfunctory.  A  moment 


218  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

later  he  was  seated  in  the  police  automobile  and  driving  down 
the  Avenue  de  Wagram  toward  the  Arc  de  Triomphe,  at  the 
Etoile,  from  which  nine  of  the  greatest  avenues  and  boule- 
vards of  Paris  radiate  in  all  directions.  He  chatted  grac- 
iously with  the  officers  until  circling  the  great  arch.  Then 
he  became  suddenly  silent.  Whether  or  not  this  mighty  em- 
blem of  the  military  power  of  France  made  him  think  of  all 
he  had  done  to  bring  dishonor  and  defeat  upon  his  country, 
none  of  his  fellow  passengers  knew. 

As  he  crossed  the  Seine  he  could  not  help  see  in  the  dis- 
tance the  island  of  the  Cite  and  the  towers  of  Notre  Dame. 
It  was  on  that  island  that  his  wife  had  once  been  imprisoned 
in  the  Conciergerie  during  her  trial  for  murder.  At  last  the 
automobile  turned  into  the  Boulevard  Arago  and  stopped 
within  the  shadow  of  the  Prison  de  la  Sante.  Hither  his 
wife  had  first  been  brought  on  the  night  of  Calmette's  death. 

Escorted  by  Commissary  Priolct  and  followed  by  three 
inspectors,  the  former  Premier  of  France  entered  the  wide 
entrance  of  the  city  jail,  a  prisoner.  At  first  he  assumed  the 
air  of  a  man  who  could  not  bend,  who  was  still  above  the  law. 
As  soon  as  he  reached  the  office  of  the  Director,  M.  Dabat,  he 
sought  to  greet  this  official  as  if  he  were  some  old  associate 
in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies. 

"Ah,  Good  Morning,  M.  Dabat,"  he  said  smilingly.  "I 
want  to  ask  you  a  question.  I  am  under  arrest.  That  is 
understood.  But  I  trust  you  will  not  treat  me  as  an  ordinary 
prisoner,  charged  with  the  violation  of  the  criminal  law." 

"I  have  received  no  orders  to  the  contrary,"  replied  M. 
Dabat.  "I  will  see."  Having  telephoned  to  the  Ministry  of 
Justice,  M.  Dabat  finally  replied  that  he  had  been  authorized 
to  treat  Caillaux  as  a  political  prisoner. 

"You  may  have  two  mattresses  instead  of  one,"  he  said. 
"Also  two  bed  covers  and  a  table.  Such  things  the  ordinary 
inmates  do  not  have.  You  will  be  placed  in  the  Eleventh 
Division.  I  will  see  that  the  extra  furniture  is  taken  to  your 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  219 

cell  immediately."  Turning  to  Commissary  Priolet,  the  Dir- 
ector added: 

"Please  take  the  gentleman  now  to  the  Recorder's  Office." 

There  a  secretary  took  the  warrant,  inspected  the  sign- 
ature of  Captain  Bouchardon  with  which  it  was  counter- 
signed, and  asked: 

"Are  you  Caillaux,  Joseph  Caillaux,  born  at  Mans,  on 
March  30,  1863,  the  person  named  in  this  warrant?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Caillaux,  and  in  answer  to  many  more  ques- 
tions he  finally  gave  all  the  details  of  his  pedigree,  like  an 
ordinary  criminal.  As  he  began  to  realize  how  far  he  had 
fallen,  he  lost  his  former  appearance  of  good  humor,  and 
when  at  last,  he  was  asked  to  press  his  finger  tips  on  an  ink 
pad,  he  drew  back  defiantly. 

"Your  finger  prints,  please.  The  rules  compel  this  form- 
ality," was  the  almost  apologetic  explanation.  Swallowing 
the  lump  in  his  throat,  Caillaux  submitted  to  the  ordeal,  and 
the  prints  of  the  fingers  of  both  hands  were  recorded  on  the 
pedigree  card.  This  done,  he  was  led  to  the  Department  of 
Personal  Inspection.  With  a  special  card,  which  he  had  just 
received,giving  his  cell  number  and  name,  Caillaux  entered  a 
room,  where  three  policemen  were  searching  a  line  of  prison- 
ers. The  sight  made  him  recoil,  and  he  was  about  to  step 
back  into  the  hall,  when  one  of  the  policemen  said  gruffly : 

"Here,  here.     Wait  your  turn." 

Caillaux  held  out  his  card.  The  policeman  looked,  and  in- 
stantly he  was  all  deference. 

"WTiat,  Joseph  Caillaux?"  he  exclaimed. 

"Yes." 

The  other  policeman  looked  at  the  card.  They  whispered 
to  each  other  a  moment.  Then  one  said  in  a  low  voice: 

"Empty  your  pockets,  if  you  please.     It  is  the  rule." 

The  blood  mounted  to  his  temples,  as  he  obeyed.  On  the 
table  before  him  he  piled  a  number  of  private  papers,  his 


220  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

knife,  keys,  and  a  pocketbook,  which  one  policeman  opened 
as  he  announced: 

"Six  thousand  francs". 

With  a  few  books  including  love  poems  and  novels,  he  was 
taken  to  Cell  No.  17.  A  naval  quarter  master,  who  had  been 
wounded  in  a  sea  disaster,  was  already  there  to  act  as  attend- 
ant as  well  as  keeper.  "Peyrebrune,"  he  answered,  when 
Caillaux  asked  his  name. 

In  Cell  17  Caillaux  proceeded  to  make  himself  at  home.  His 
old  time  self  possession  returned.  Also  his  appetite.  He 
ordered  a  plate  of  bouillon,  two  eggs  and  a  half  bottle  of 
Bordeaux  for  luncheon,  and  another  plate  of  bouillon,  chicken 
and  rice,  and  another  half  bottle  of  Bordeaux  for  dinner. 
During  the  afternoon  he  confered  with  M.  Demange,  his  at- 
torney, in  the  reception  room.  In  the  evening  he  read  and 
wrote  until  11  o'clock,  and  then  gave  orders  to  be  awakened 
at  6  in  the  morning.  His  keeper  smiled. 

"We  all  get  up  pretty  early  here,"  he  replied. 

"And  this  is  the  Eleventh  Division?"  queried  Caillaux  for 
lack  of  another  question. 

"Yes,  sir,"  responded  the  keeper.  "It  is  specially  guarded. 
We  have  got  some  very  dangerous  people  here.  There's 
Bolo,  Duval,  Landau,  Marion,  Goldsky " 

"Thank  you,  good  night,"  gaid  Caillaux., 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

BOLD  TRIED  FOR  TEEASON 

The  Levantine  Adventurer  Confronted  By  His  "Wives" — 
The  Last  One  Still  Faithful— His  First  Woman  Victim 
Too  Blind  To  See  Him — Slve  Tells  Her  Story  Of  a  Ruined 
Life — Bolo  Weeps — His  First  Wife  Relates  How  She  Dis- 
covered His  Perfidy — His  Brother,  a  Monsignor,  Pleads 
To  Save  Him — Bolo's  End 

Of  Caillaux's  prison  associates,  Bolo  was  the  first  to  be 
brought  to  trial.  On  February  4,  1918,  he  was  taken  before 
the  court  martial  of  the  Third  Council  of  War.  His  easy, 
gracious  manner,  his  pleasant  words  for  everyone,  made  him 
appear  the  least  concerned  of  all  the  court  room.  His  ele- 
gantly tailored  costume,  his  glossy  hair  and  moustache,  his 
jaunty  monocle,  hardly  permitted  one  to  think  he  had  been 
living  for  the  last  five  months  in  the  city  jail.  Indeed,  he 
looked  as  if  he  had  been  the  host  at  one  of  his  famous  ban- 
quets in  an  adjoining  room,  and  had  just  dropped  in  to  meet 
some  more  old  friends. 

The  chamber  was  filled  with  a  far  different  crowd  than 
witnessed  the  trial  of  Mme.  Caillaux.  Two-thirds  of  the 
women  were  garmented  in  black.  Nearly  all  the  men  among 
the  spectators  were  aged  or  crippled.  Upon  the  whole  scene 
fell  the  shadow  of  suffering  and  death.  The  spectre  of  war 
haunted  everything.  Almost  continually  one  could  hear  the 
far  off  rumble  of  guns  at  the  front  or  the  throbbing  roar  of 
aeroplane  sentries  overhead. 

Beside  Bolo  sat  Porchere,  accused  of  having  been  a  go- 

221 


222  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

between  in  one  of  Bolo's  treason  plots.  Formerly  an  attor- 
ney at  Oran,  he  later  became  vice-president  of  the  Senate. 
Although  the  charge  of  treason  also  implicated  Cavallini,  the 
Italian  co-defendant  was  not  there.  And  for  good  cause. 
Just  at  that  time  he  was  languishing  behind  the  bars  of  an 
Italian  prison,  accused  of  having  betrayed  Italy  also  to  the 
enemy. 

Against  Bolo,  there  were  two  charges  of  treason.  First, 
he  had  conspired  with  Abbas  Hilmi  in  Switzerland  to  aid  the 
foe.  Second,  he  had  received  from  Cavallini  in  Paris  1,000,- 
000  francs  of  German  money  for  pacifist  propaganda  in 
France. 

As  near  Bolo  as  she  could  approach  sat  his  wife.  Frequent- 
ly, she  hid  her  tear  dimmed  eyes  in  her  handkerchief.  When 
her  husband  had  entered  the  courtroom,  she  had  thrown  her- 
self into  his  arms,  and  at  first  she  almost  fought  against 
being  taken  out  of  his  embrace.  And  as  she  now  gazed  at 
him  through  her  tears  she  showed  how  she  still  clung  to  him, 
still  believed  in  him. 

Further  away  there  lurked  two  other  women.  Bolo  had 
caught  sight  of  them  early,  and  he  made  every  effort  to  avoid 
seeing  them  again.  He  well  knew  the  stories  that  they  had 
been  summoned  to  tell,  stories  of  his  old  wild  life,  stories  that 
would  reveal  in  him  all  that  was  base  and  perfidious.  They 
were  his  other  "wives". 

After  Colonel  Voyer,  very  military,  very  correct,  very 
courteous  and  yet  very  firm,-  sometimes  pulling  the  ends  of 
his  big  moustache,  other  times  polishing  his  glasses,  had 
taken  his  seat  as  president  of  the  court  martial;  after  Lt. 
Mornet,  bearded,  shaggy,  almost  wolfish,  had  plunged  into 
a  great  mass  of  documents  and  begun  his  work,as  chief  pro- 
secutor; after  Capt.  Bouchardon,  bald,  calm,  deliberate,  had 
presented  his  report,  as  chief  investigator;  after  Bolo,  suave, 
dissimmulating,  resourceful,  had  sought  to  parry  Hornet's 
interrogations  with  all  manner  of  denial  or  excuse;  after  a 


BOLO   PACHA 

"Always    on    guard,   he    met   attack  with   all    the   weapons   of   dissimula- 
tion.    His  smiles,  his  sneers,  his  gestures   of   defiance   or   contempt   were 

perfect   camouflage.' 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  228 

train  of  other  witnesses  had  testified  to  Bolo's  adventures, 
intrigues,  and  crimes, — these  two  other  women  were  called  to 
the  stand. 

The  first  made  Mine.  Bolo  almost  swoon  from  her  chair. 
It  was  Mme.  Mathilde  Panon,  Bolo's  first  woman  victim,  a 
poor,  thin,  feeble  creature,  almost  blind,  her  voice  hardly 
more  than  a  hoarse  whisper,  her  lips,  white  as  in  death.  As 
bhe  tottered  along,  her  face  uplifted,  her  almost  sightless 
eyes  half  closed,  she  seemed  a  sort  of  wraith,  which  had  come 
up  out  of  his  evil  past  to  mock  him. 

"Before  knowing  M.  Bolo,"  she  began  tremulously,  "my 
husband  and  I  were  very  happy.  When  Bolo  came,  that 
happiness  vanished.  A  few  months  later,  I  was  lost.  I  be- 
lieved in  his  love.  I  gave  up  everything  for  him. 

"One  day,  after  a  serious  illness,  he  told  me  that  my 
husband  was  about  to  be  declared  a  bankrupt,  that  there  was 
only  one  thing  to  do,  and  that  was  to  elope.  I  was  demented. 
I  cannot,  cannot  tell  you  my  emotions  that  day.  I  was  con- 
sumed with  a  ravaging  passion.  I  consented  to  flee  with  him. 
I  abandoned  my  husband,  who  had  worshiped  me.  I  aband- 
oned my  mother,  my  country,  everything,  for  him." 

The  ghostlike  face  looked  blankly  at  Bolo,  who  buried  his 
head  in  his  hands  and  began  sobbing  like  a  child.  Mme.  Bolo 
tried  to  reach  out  her  arms  to  comfort  him,  but  her  strength 
failed  her. 

"I  carried  away  with  me  my  jewels,  some  of  which  were 
very  beautiful,  very  costly.  Most  of  them  were  a  present 
from  my  aunt,  who  loved  me  very  dearly.  I  also  took  a  few 
thousand  francs. 

"A  few  days  later,  I  fell  ill  at  Barcelona.  Bolo  took  me 
to  Valencia,  where  M.  Pollis,  the  French  consul,  took  pity  on 
me  and  found  some  pupils  for  me.  I  taught  elocution.  But 
I  could  not  earn  money  enough  for  Bolo.  He  began  to  sell 
my  jewels.  M.  Pollis  told  Bolo  he  would  have  to  leave.  We 
returned  to  Paris  in  distress.  My  last  jewels  were  disappear- 


224  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

ing  rapidly.  I  was  still  ill.  In  Paris  I  suffered  the  agonies 
of  both  soul  and  body.  At  last  I  could  not  stand  it  any 
longer.  I  went  back  to  my  husband.  I  beseeched  him  to 
save  my  life,  to  take  me  into  his  arms  once  more.  And  at 
last,  at  last,  he  forgave  me." 

The  whispering  voice  became  a  sob.  The  pallid  face  grew 
still  whiter.  The  thin  fingers  twitched  convulsively.  Not 
until  Lt.  Hornet's  kindly  voice  reasured  her,  was  she  able  to 
continue.  Finally  she  said: 

"I  began  to  work  with  all  my  soul,  with  all  my  energy,  to 
deserve  my  husband's  pardon,  to  prove  to  my  mother  that  I 
was  sincerely  repentant.  And  happiness  came  again.  Oh,  it 
was  so  sweet,  so  sweet  after  such  agony.  But  it  could  not 
last.  Bolo  came  again.  He  talked  with  my  husband.  He 
was  so  kind,  so  apparently  anxious  to  regain  favor,  that  he 
tempted  my  husband  into  another  venture,  in  which  we  lost 
everything.  Oh,  God,  why  did  this  evil  being  ever  cross  my 
path?" 

Colonel  Voyer  bent  forward  sympathetically,  and  asked : 
"Do  you  recognize  the  accused  as  the  Bolo  that  you  knew?" 
Mme.  Panon  turned  her  face  again  toward  the  prisoner, 
who  at  the  command  of  the  court,  threw  back  his  shoulders 
and  stared  straight  ahead.     His  face  had  become  a  death 
mask. 

"No,  no,"  faltered  the  poor  woman.     "I  am  blind." 
Mme.  Bolo  kept  her  face  hid  in  her  handkerchief. 
Panon,  the  husband,   also   told  his   story.      His   hesitant 
manner,  his  softness  of  voice  revealed  the  kind  of  man,  who 
forgives  because  of  weakness   rather  than  of  charity.     He 
explained  how  he  had  been  twice  deceived.     After  Bolo  had 
seen  Pavenstedt  and  opened  a  new  stream  of  riches,  Panon 
believed  that  his  former  partner's  character  had  changed  for 
the  better,  the  same  as  his  fortune. 

"In  March,  1917,"  said  Panon,  "Bolo  asked  me  to  go  to 
New  York  and  learn  from  Pavenstedt  of  Amsinck  and  Com- 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  225 

panjr,  how  his  account  stood.  He  wanted  a  statement  up  to 
February,  1917.  Pavenstedt  refused.  He  told  me  to  break 
away  from  Bolo.  When  I  got  back  to  France  I  was  poorer 
than  ever.  The  1.0,000  francs,  Bolo  gave  me,  were  almost 
all  gone.  I  was  ruined." 

Panon's  testimony  aroused  Bolo  into  a  fury. 

"Panon  is  a  liar.  Panon  is  the  traitor.  Pavenstedt  bribed 
him,"  he  cried. 

Meanwhile  a  younger,  fairer  woman  was  waiting  to  tell  her 
story  of  the  Levantine  charmer.  She  was  Mme.  Henriette 
Soumaille,  the  opera  singer  with  whom  he  had  voyaged  to 
South  America,  whom  he  had  finally  married  and  then  aband- 
oned for  the  Mme.  Bolo,  who  now  sat  near  him.  When  she 
finally  took  the  stand  and  lifted  her  veil,  her  features  ap- 
peared to  have  almost  completely  escaped  the  imprint  of  ill 
fortune.  Indeed,  the  shadow  of  a  smile  smoothed  away  what 
few  wrinkles  she  had.  It  was  the  smile  of  one  who  is  happy 
in  not  having  suffered  more. 

Mme.  Soumaille  told  of  her  tempestuous  experiences  in 
South  America,  how  Bolo  kept  spending  her  money,  and  how, 
when  the  cash  came  too  slow,  mysterious  burglars  broke  into 
her  apartment  and  took  her  jewels  As  her  memories  of  the 
past  became  more  vivid  her  emotions  became  more  and  more 
aroused. 

"After  we  separated,  I  tried  to  divorce  him,  but  could  not, 
because  I  could  not  find  him,"  she  continued.  "I  laid  the  case 
before  a  lawyer  in  Nice. 

"The  attorney  exclaimed: 

"  'Why,  I  know  him.     He  is  rich.     He  is  married  to — 

"'Married'?  I  said.  'Married?  Then  it  cannot  be  my 
Bolo.  He  could  not  have  committed  such  a  crime  as  that.' 

A  titter  ran  through  the  court  room. 

"My  lawyer  investigated,"  resumed  Mme.  Soumaille,  "He 
found  that  the  millionaire  Bolo  was  my  Bolo.  Some  time 
later  I  saw  in  a  newspaper,  'M.  and  Mme.  Paul  Bolo,  Hotel 


226  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Ruth'.  I  went  to  the  hotel  and  inquired.  They  said  Bolo 
Pacha  was  stopping  there. 

"I  let  some  days  go  by,  and  then  I  went  to  Bolo's  home 
in  the  Rue  de  Phalsbourg.  I  stood  in  front  of  the  door  for 
five  minutes,  before  I  had  courage  enough  to  ring.  At  last 
I  did,  and  a  servant  came. 

"  'Is  M.  Bolo  in?'  I  asked.  'Yes,  he  replied.  Who  shall 
I  say  is  calling?'  'It  is  not  necessary  to  give  my  name.  He 
does  not  know  me,'  I  answered." 

As  soon  as  Mme.  Soumaille  began  her  testimony,  Mme. 
Bolo  looked  at  her  with  mingled  expressions  of  scorn  and 
contempt.  The  faithful  wife  seemed  to  have  forgotten  all 
that  was  ever  ill  about  her  beloved  husband,  who  had  also 
recovered  his  good  humor  and  returned  his  wife's  imploring 
looks  with  apparently  the  happiest  of  smiles. 

"  'As  I  entered  the  salon  through  one  door,"  continued 
the  first  Mme.  Bolo,  "my  husband  came  in  another.  He  had 
no  time  to  say  he  could  not  receive  me.  He  greeted  me  and 
showed  me  a  big  arm  chair,  with  the  words : 

"  'What  do  you  wish,  madam?' 

"  'Do  you  not  recognize  me?'  I  asked.  'Must  I  announce 
myself  ?' 

"  'No,  if  you  please,  no,  not  here.' 

"  'What  do  you  mean,  not  here  ?  I  want  to  talk  things 
over,  and  then  I  want  a  divorce.' 

"  'No,  not  here.  I  will  meet  you  outside,  any  place  you 
say,  but  not  here.  My  wife  is  likely  to  come  in  at — 

"'Your  wife?'  I  cried.  'What  do  you  mean  by  your 
wife.  I  am  your  wife.  You  married  me  and  you  are  still 
married  to  me.' 

"Then  the  other  woman  came,  and  asked  me  who  I  was.  I 
replied,  'Ask  Monsieur.' 

"  'Since  it  is  necessary  to  speak,'  he  said  at  last,  'I  will 
tell  you.  The  madame  there  twenty  years  ago  at  Buenos 
Ayres  was  my  wife.' 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  227 

"  'She  is  yet,  sir,'  I  said. 

"They  both  began  to  talk  at  the  same  time,  and  tjien  they 
came  to  me  and  besought  me  not  to  cause  a  scandal.  Bolo 
said  he  would  see  me  again  the  next  day  at  the  Grand  Hotel. 
There,  again,  he  begged  me  not  to  make  a  scandal.  He  said 
I  could  have  no  interest  in  ruining  him.  He  said  he  would 
indemnify  me  for  all  that  I  had  suffered,  morally  and  mater- 
ially, and  I  accepted. 

"He  gave  me  25.000  francs  and  promised  an  income  of 
20,000  francs  a  year.  I  wanted  it  attested  by  a  notary,  but 
he  said  it  was  not  necessary. 

"Last  June  there  were  whisperings  about  him,  and  I  went 
to  him  and  said,  'Monsieur,  I  do  not  wish  to  wait  longer.  I 
Want  a  divorce.'  He  replied,  'I  shall  go  to  Nice  in  December 
as  quietly  as  I  can,  and  establish  a  domicile  there.  Then 
you  can  sue  me,  and  we  shall  be  divorced.' 

"Later  I  became  worried  again  and  went  to  see  him.  He 
said,  'Why  do  you  keep  bothering  me.  I  will  give  you  50,000 
francs,  if  you  will  stop.'  I  accepted." 

Mme.  Soumaille  nearly  fainted  several  times,  as  she  dwelt 
more  and  more  on  the  details  of  her  sufferings.  Finally,  the 
windows  of  the  court  room  were  ordered  thrown  open.  As 
she  left  the  stand  she  almost  fell.  Bolo  again  buried  his 
head  in  his  hands,  and  when  he  lifted  his  face  his  cheeks  were 
wet  with  tears.  He  was  an  utterly  different  Bolo  from  the 
Bolo  on  the  witness  stand.  Then,  confronted  by  the  belliger- 
ant  Lt.  Mornet,  he  was  supremely  self  possessed.  Always 
on  guard,  he  met  attack  with  all  the  weapons  of  dissimulation. 
His  smiles,  his  sneers,  his  gestures  of  defiance  or  contempt 
were  perfect  camouflage. 

And  now  came  the  last  Mme.  Bolo  to  the  stand.  The 
crowd  tried  hard  to  see  her  face,  but  the  broad  brim  of  her 
picture  hat  cast  too  dark  a  shadow.  She  appeared  to  b« 
more  .resolute,  more  self  possessed,  than  the  women  who  prt- 
ceeded  her.  She  too  had  at  one  time  been  a  ginger  in  small 


228  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

theatres,  but  a  life  of  wealth,  the  adulation  of  fair  weather 
friends,  the  servility  of  servants,  the  hypocrisy  of  society, 
had  given  her  a  false  poise  and  an  affected  bearing,  which 
at  this  critical  time  did  not  desert  her.  She  vigorously 
denied  that  Bolo  had  dissipated  her  fortune.  Instead,  she 
said,  he  had  increased  it. 

"He  has  been  a  model  husband,"  she  said.  "He  worked 
hard.  He  always  attended  to  my  comfort.  He  was  most 
regular  in  his  habits.  He  rose  every  morning  at  seven.  He 
received  visitors  at  nine.  He  went  to  business  as  soon  as 
disengaged,  and  returned  home  at  noon  for  dejeuner.  Later 
he  would  leave  the  house  for  various  business  engagements. 
At  night  he  never  went  out  without  me.  He  never  accepted 
a  dinner  engagement  alone." 

Mme.  Bolo's  unstinted  praise  was  in  answer  to  questions 
asked  by  Albert  Salle,  Bolo's  attorney. 

Among  all  other  witnesses,  none  was  awaited  with  more 
straining  of  necks,  more  excited  whisperings,  than  Joseph 
Caillaux.  At  last  he  pushed  his  way  toward  the  stand  through 
a  surging  crowd  of  spectators.  His  alert  and  sure  step, 
his  vigilant  eyes,  seeking  ever  to  dominate  those  that  met 
them,  indicated  that  he  had  lost  none  of  his  old  time  faith 
in  his  own  fortunes. 

"What  is  your  name?"    he  was  asked. 

"Joseph-Pierre-Marie- Auguste  Caillaux." 

"Your  profession?" 

"Deputy,  President  of  the  Council  General  of  the  Sarthe." 

"Your  residence?" 

And  without  the  least  hesitation  or  the  slightest  evidence 
of  feeling,  he  replied: 

"La  Sante  prison." 

Caillaux  admitted  he  had  been  on  good  terms  with  Bolo. 
His  defense  was  much  the  same  as  in  the  Chamber.  When 
asked  why  he  had  written  Bolo  to  see  him  upon  the  latter's 
return  from  America,  he  replied : 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  229 

"I  was  anxious  to  know  if  he  had  any  definite  idea  of  the 
success  of  the  two  canditates  for  the  Presidency  of  the 
United  States.  As  a  statesman  I  was  naturally  interested. 
For  my  part,  I  was  willing  to  see  M.  Wilson  victorious.  I 
knew  that  his  candidacy  was  the  best  thing  for  France.  M. 
Hughes,  on  the  contrary,  had  aroused  my  suspicions,  because 
he  was  supported  by  Wall  Street." 

M.  Cassclla,  the  Swiss  correspondent  of  Le  Matin,  told  of 
his  work  as  an  investigator,  in  following  all  the  labyrinthine 
movements  of  Bolo  and  his  fellow  conspirators  from  rendez- 
vous to  rendezvous,  hotel  to  hotel,  train  to  train.  Indeed,  it 
was  M.  Casella,  who  furnished  the  first  proof  of  the  Levan- 
tine's guilt. 

"German  propaganda  in  Switzerland,"  he  said,  "plans  to 
overthrow  the  whole  world.  From  Switzerland  the  Germans 
are  launching  a  Maximalist  movement  in  all  the  Allied  coun- 
tries. Those  who  have  lent  themselves  to  this  propaganda 
are  traitors  more  miserable  than  the  spies  at  the  front.  They 
are  ten  times  more  abominable,  than  the  perfidious  cowards 
who  turn  their  backs  to  the  enemy." 

.Charles  Humbert  told  of  his  dealings  with  Bolo,  and  in- 
sisted that  he  had  not  the  slightest  idea  of  the  German 
source  of  Bolo's  millions.  He  said  that  Bolo's  check  was  on 
the  Bank  Perier.  When  he  learned  of  Bolo's  guilt,  he  said  he 
reimbursed  him.  "Not  one  cent  of  Bolo's  money  ever  entered 
the  'Journal',"  he  testified.  "It  passed  from  America  to  the 
Perier  Bank,  and  thence  to  my  attorney,  McAndouin,  who 
gave  it  to  McBrunet,  legal  adviser  of  Pierre  Lenoir." 

Lenoir's  connections  with  the  enemy  were  revealed  in  a 
later  trial  in  which  with  Humbert  and  Desouches,  Humbert's 
other  associate  in  the  Journal,  he  was  accused  of  treason 
like  that  of  Bolo.  (See  Chapter  XXI.) 

And  now  among  the  last  witnesses  there  appeared  a  man 
in  clerical  garb  and  studentical  manner,  whose  severe  face 
bore  a  faraway  resemblance  to  that  of  the  chief  prisoner  in 


230  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

some  of  his  graver  moods.  Years  before,  when  Bolo  Pacha 
was  nearly  arrested  for  some  youthful  prank,  and  this  ec- 
clesiastic had  not  yet  entered  the  church,  the  latter  said  to 
the  former: 

"Paul,  unless  you  remember  that  you  are  responsible  to 
God  for  all  you  do,  you  shall  surely  meet  punishment  at  his 
hands." 

"There  is  no  God,"  was  the  reply. 

At  last  these  same  two  were  brought  face  to  face  again. 
And  again  each  must  have  thought  of  those  words  of  earnest 
warning  and  truthful  prophecy.  For  the  two  men  were 
brothers.  One  had  followed  the  broad ;  the  other  the  narrow 
path  of  life.  The  man  in  black  took  the  stand,  and  said  he 
was  Monsignor  Bolo.  He  had  come  to  save  his  brother's 
life.  He  refused  to  believe  any  of  the  charges  against  him. 
He  simply  knew  that  his  brother  must  be  innocent,  that  he 
could  not  have  stooped  so  low.  Even  when  confronted  with 
the  blackest  proof,  he  shook  his  head.  "Impossible,"  he 
said.  He  spoke  proudly  of  the  patriotism  of  the  Bolo  family. 
He  told  how  he,  himself,  despite  his  grey  hair,  had  volunteered 
to  fight  for  his  country  at  the  first  news  of  the  German 
invasion. 

"I  forgot  my  age,"  he  cried.  "I  wanted  to  do  my  duty. 
I  went  to  the  front.  The  only  reason  I  am  here  now,  is  be- 
cause I  had  to  come  back  ill  and  lame." 

But  the  pleadings  of  the  faithful  brother  were  of  no  avail. 
On  February  14,  1918,  Bolo  Pacha  and  Cavallini  were  sen- 
tenced to  death.  Porchere  was  condemned  to  three  years  im- 
prisonment. 

On  April  17,  1918,  Bolo  was  executed. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  BONNET  ROUGE  TREASON  UNFOLDED 

Duval,  Marion,  Joucla,  Landau,  Goldsky,  Leymarie,  Vercas- 
son  Put  On  Trial.  Lt.  Mornet  Exposes  All  Their  Plots. 
Explains  How  Germany  Used  Them  As  Pawns.  Bonnet 
Rouge  Peace  Articles  Indentical  With  Those  Of  German 
Newspaper.  The  Tragic  Fate  of  Duval. 

A  little  more  than  two  months  later,  on  April  29,  1918, 
the  Bonnet  Rouge  gang  was  taken  from  "La  Sante"  and 
arraigned  before  the  Third  Council  of  War.  Into  the  court 
martial  chamber  they  came,  one  by  one,  Duval,  Marion, 
Joucla,  Landau,  Goldsky.  With  them  were  also  brought  to 
trial,  Leymarie,  Malvy's  aide,  and  Vercasson,  Duval's  mes- 
senger. The  accused  looked  haggard  and  worn.  The  ex- 
ecution of  Bolo  less  than  two  weeks  before  still  lay  heavily 
upon  their  minds.  Nor  had  they  forgotten  the  tragic  fate 
of  Almereyda. 

Lt.  Mornet,  even  more  bearded  and  shaggy  than  ever,  con- 
ducted the  prosecution.  Captain  Bouchardon's  report  re- 
vealing all  the  varied  treacheries  of  Duval  and  his  associates, 
of  which  we  are  already  familiar,  was  read  into  the  record. 
A  multitude  of  witnesses  followed,  and  then  the  prosecutor 
summed  up  the  whole  story  of  the  treason  of  these  men  in  one 
of  the  most  eloquent  discourses,  ever  heard  in  a  French 
court. 

After  briefly  sketching  the  various  plans  of  Germany  to 
spread  the  poisonous  propaganda  of  a  premature  peace 
throughout  France,  Lt.  Mornet  continued: 


232  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"Since  it  was  treason,  which  was  to  be  accomplished 
through  a  press  campaign,  a  newspaper  was  needed,  that  had 
already  been  established,  a  ground,  already  prepared,  a 
house  already  furnished.  A  staff  of  men  was  wanted,  whose 
past  would  be  a  security  for  the  evil  work  expected  of  them. 
It  was  also  necessary  to  have  an  organizer  and  intermediary 
to  bring  all  these  forces  in  touch  with  the  directing  power  of 
the  enemy. 

"Gentlemen,  they  found  this  organizer,  this  intermediary, 
in  the  person  of  a  very  obscure  man,  M.  Duval.  In  the  San 
Stefano  affair  Duval's  business  relations  with  Germans  had 
been  perfectly  legal,  but  when  he  continued  these  assoc- 
iations after  September,  1914,  the  date  when  all  economic 
relations  with  the  subjects  of  the  Central  Empires  were  pro- 
hibited, his  acts  fell  under  the  penalty  of  the  law. 

"Out  of  a  comparatively  trifling  transaction  with  the 
enemy,  this  treason  plot,  so  far  as  it  concerns  Duval,  was 
born.  If  you  consider  this  fact,  you  will  at  once  realize  why 
it  was  necessary  to  pass  the  later  law  of  1915,  which  made  it 
an  offense  even  to  talk  with  the  enemy  upon  an  economic 
subject. 

"Experience  had  demonstrated  that  nearly  always  these 
conversations,  at  first  of  a  purely  personal  character,  led 
sooner  or  later  to  affairs  of  treason.  So  it  was  that  by  talk- 
ing of  the  San  Stefano  company  with  the  German  Marx, 
Duval  was  prompted  to  talk  about  the  war.  They  regretted 
the  war.  They  regretted  the  catastrophy,  and  perhaps  the 
German  regretted  it  more  vehemently  than  did  the  French- 
man. Then,  while  deploring  the  calamity,  they  gradually 
drifted  into  discussing  the  means  by  which  the  war  might  be 
ended. 

"These  two  men  began  to  realize  their  common  desire  for 
peace,  a  desire  which  was  particularly  violent  and  persistent 
among  the  Germans.  Thus,  little  by  little,  from  his  first 
dealings  with  the  enemy,  Duval  descended  as  low  as  treason. 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  233 

"I  shall  now  get  into  the  heart  of  the  prosecution,  and 
show  you  that  in  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  a  house  was  found  al- 
ready furnished.  We  will  see  what  this  house  is. 

"The  'Bonnet  Rouge"  had  been  founded  in  1913.  Its  pro- 
grame  may  be  found  in  a  great  poster,  which  I  shall  ask  the 
Court  Recorder  to  show  you.  It  dates  back  to  1913,  before 
the  war,  but  it  is  typical.  I  quote  its  title : 

"  'The  Franco-German  re-approachment.' 

"In  those  words  you  have  the  whole  programme. 

"The  director  of  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  was  Almereyda.  There 
has  been  a  great  deal  said  of  this  man  during  the  trial.  Al- 
mereyda was  still  a  young  man,  and  yet  he  possessed  a  crim- 
inal record  adorned  with  six  convictions. 

"I  am  obliged  to  state  that  an  important  political  person- 
age, M.  Caillaux,  former  President  of  the  Council,  paid  on 
July  17,  1914,  the  sum  of  40,000  francs  to  the  'Bonnet 
Rouge'.  The  receipt  is  one  of  the  exhibits  of  this  case.  At 
the  beginning  of  1914  there  was  a  tragedy  enacted  which 
you  remember,  the  assassination  of  M.  Calmette  by  Mme. 
Caillaux.  The  'Bonnet  Rouge',  in  the  person  of  Almereyda, 
made  a  most  violent  crusade  in  favor  of  Mme.  Caillaux,  even 
going  so  far  as  to  praise  the  crime. 

"Almereyda's  efforts  in  behalf  of  M.  Caillaux  also  extend- 
ed outside  of  this  newspaper.  Proof  is  to  be  found  in  this 
extremely  interesting  report,  signed  by  the  Prefect  of  Police, 
himself.  It  reads: 

"  'My  attention  has  been  called  to  a  certain  number  of 
persons  who  constitute  a  sort  of  claque,  whose  duty  it  is  to 
start  agitations  in  behalf  of  M.  Caillaux  and  against  his  ad- 
versaries. This  group,  familiarly  called,  "The  Corsican 
Guard",  was  organized  during  the  Caillaux-Calmette  trial, 
in  July,  1914.  "The  Corsican  Guard"  was  recruited  by 
Almereyda,  assisted  by  Napoleon  Poggiale,  Poggia  Roch, 
Tavera,  called  the  Assassin,  Filippi,  called  Pasquale,  all  nat- 
ives of  Corsica, 


234  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"  'Every  morning  before  the  audience,  Almereyda  used 
to  gather  these  men  and  other  acolytes  in  a  cafe  at  the 
Chatelet,  and  give  them  admission  cards  to  the  court  room. 
It  has  been  proved  that  they  had  agreed  to  try  to  provoke 
during  the  sessions  of  the  court,  manifestations  favorable  to 
the  accused  or  her  husband  and  hostile  to  the  witness  for 
the  state  and  the  prosecution. 

"  'At  the  adjournment  of  the  session,  they  would  escort  M. 
Caillaux  under  the  pretext  of  protecting  him. 

"  'All  these  individuals  were  dangerous  criminals  and  in- 
ternational bandits.  Their  leaders,  Poggia  Roch  and  Nap- 
oleon Poggiale  have  not  incured  less  than  twelve  convictions. 
Still  another  has  six  convictions  to  his  credit,  chiefly  for 
murder  and  arson:  Tavera,  called  the  Assassin,  is  a  crook, 
living  on  various  devices  including  the  exploitation  of  gam- 
bling places.  He  has  been  convicted  six  times.  Once  he  was 
sentenced  to  five  years  by  the  Assizes  Court  of  Corsica.  Filip- 
pi  has  not  incurred  less  than  12  convictions,  chiefly  for 
thefts.' 

"Then  came  the  war.  Almereyda,  following  his  fantastic 
career,  began  to  exert  his  influence  upon  the  Minister  of  the 
Interior.  I  do  not  exaggerate  in  the  slightest,  when  I  say 
that  this  man,  who  has  been  condemned  six  times,  and  organ- 
ized the  'Corsican  Guard',  became  the  real  prefect  of  police. 

"The  proof  is  to  be  found  in  a  series  of  papers  on  file  here, 
sent  by  Almereyda  to  the  Prefecture  of  Police  through  the 
Ministry  of  the  Interior,  and  which  contain  orders  to  set 
free  a  long  list  of  foreigners,  interned  in  concentration  camps. 

"In  the  very  beginning  Almereyda  maintained  a  correct  at- 
itude.  We  must  give  what  credit  is  due  him.  Almereyda  was 
boiling.  He  had  hot  blood,  and  perhaps,  in  the  contagion 
of  enthusiasm  during  the  first  days  of  the  war,  Almereyda 
was  sincere,  and  under  the  impulse  of  his  violent  temperment 
dashed  into  a  short,  patriotic  campaign. 

"But  in  a  note,  which  we  have  here  in  the  files,  Almereyda 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  235 

explains  that  his  ideas  experienced  an  evolution.  Moments 
of  enthusiasm  are  of  short  duration  in  a  rascal.  Almereyda 
was  not  long  in  cooling  off. 

"By  the  end  of  1915,  one  could  see  in  the  "Bonnet  Rouge* 
a.  propaganda  favorable  to  the  doctrines  of  Zimmerwald  and 
Kienthal.  The  'Bonnet  Rouge'  is  perhaps  the  only  organ  of 
the  French  press,  which  published  such  articles  at  that  time. 

It  als0  applauded  Remain  Roland  because,  Gentlemen,  in 
1915,  the  heart  of  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  had  already  ceased  to 
beat  in  unison  with  that  of  France. 

"There  is  another  phase  of  this  matter,  which  is  almost  too 
evil  to  contemplate,  but  of  which  I  must  speak. 

"Several  times  every  week,  you  must  have  seen  an  article  in 
the  'Bonnet  Rouge',  which  was  always  of  the  same  tenor.  It 
told,  for  example,  how  husbands  were  deceived,  how  soldiers 
on  furloughs  discovered  that  their  wives  at  home  were  un- 
faithful. 

"Turn  the  pages  of  the  'Bonnet  Rouge\  and  you  will  be- 
come sick  with  disgust.  You  will  see  that  its  editors  made 
every  insidious  effort  to  create  a  jealous  fear  in  the  mind  of 
every  soldier  who  left  a  wife  at  home,  demoralizing  him, 
drawing  his  mind  away  from  discipline  and  duty. 

"Look  at  the  pictures  in  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'.  Read  the 
captions,  'The  Ardent  Patriot',  'Mimi's  Mattress',  and  so 
forth. 

"From  1916  on  we  see  Almereyda  in  touch  with  all  the 
pacifist  groups.  One  of  them,  by  the  way,  had  quite  an 
ephemeral  existence.  I  speak  of  the  Poinsot  group.  Poinsot 
had  seen  M.  Caillaux,  and  he  wrote  to  Almereyda  on  June  1, 
1916: 

"  'Everything  has  been  obtained  for  us.  All  we  need  is 
that  the  censorship  will  allow  us  the  right  to  discuss  in  the 
newspapers  the  problem  of  peace.' 

"Poinsot,  however,  was  far  less  dangerous  than  some  other 
people,  with  whom  Almereyda  was  now  to  be  found.  For 


236  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

example,  one  of  his  associates  was  Hartmann,  Hartmann, 
whose  home  was  a  veritable  center  of  international  treason, 
Hartmann,  who  at  present  is  being  prosecuted  in  Paris  for 
'intelligence  with  the  enemy'.  We  find  Hartman,  writing  this 
letter  to  Almereyda: 

"  'I  thank  you  for  sending  me  your  newspaper,  and  I  take 
the  liberty  to  compliment  you  upon  its  correct  attitude.' 

"We  discover  Almereyda  also  in  close  communion  with 
Guilbeaux,  Guilbeaux,  whom  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  supported 
in  protesting  against  the  interdiction  of  the  review  Demain 
(Tomorrow),  the  official  organ  of  Leninism  and  Bolshevism. 
Listen  to  this  letter,  which  Guilbeaux  has  written  to  Captain 
Bouchardon,  because,  I  was  forgetting  to  tell  you,  Guilbeaux 
is  also  being  prosecuted  for  'intelligence  with  the  enemy'. 

"'Sir: 

"  'I  learned  through  the  papers  the  charges  of  crime 
against  me,  and  the  inquiry  which  you  are  making.  I  have 
the  honor  to  inform  you,  that  if  perchance  a  summons  were 
sent  me,  I  would  not  pay  any  attention  to  it.  I  would  not 
appear. 

"  'In  fact,  I  do  not  recognize  tribunals,  which  are  tribunals 
of  classes,  of  which  the  Councils  of  War  are  the  most  odious 
expression. 

"  'In  so  doing  I  am  inspired  by  the  examples  of  my  in- 
ternationalist comrades,  Lenine  and  Zenovieff,  when  they  were 
convicted  of  high  treason  by  the  dictator,  Kerensky.  The 
only  jurisdiction  I  recognize  is  that  of  my  comrades,  the 
Zimmerwaldians. 

"  'I  do  not  blame  you.  You  are  but  the  unconscious  tool 
cf  imperialism,  which  the  hypocritical  phraseology  of  'Right', 
'Liberty',  and  'Civilization',  cannot  dissimulate.  You  are  but 
the  involuntary  plaything  of  the  Tzarist  regime,  which  has 
been  governing  the  French  Republic  for  a  long  time,  for 
after  all  the  French  Republic  is  only  a  financial  monarchy. 

"  'The  attitude  of  the  French  imperialistic  and  chauvinistic 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  237 

press  clearly  expresses  the  policy  of  despair,  of  which  Clem- 
enceau  is  the  dictator,  Clemenceau,  who  vainly  promises  vic- 
tory. 

"  'The  hour  is  near  when  the  French,  English  and  Italian 
proletariats  shall  follow  the  magnificent  example  of  the 
Russian  proletariat,  shall  overthrow  the  malefactors  now 
ruling  them,  shall  proclaim  the  peace  of  the  people,  and  shall 
install  the  Universal  Republic  of  the  Soviets'. 

"You  can  see,  Gentlemen,  who  are  Almereyda's  friends,  who 
are  the  friends  of  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'. 

"Up  to  this  point  these  documents,  these  letters,  show  only 
the  exterior  work  of  the  house.  They  are  only  a  kind  of  a 
sign.  We  must  now  look  within  and  learn  whether  the 
merchandise  corresponds  with  the  sign. 

"You  have  heard  M.  Marchand's  testimony,  that  the  fifteen 
publicity  campaigns  which  appeared  in  the  'Bonnet  Rouge' 
were  also  printed  in  the  'Gazette  des  Ardennes',  which  is  not 
published  by  French  traitors,  like  those  who  are  editing  "La 
Verite  (The  Truth),  at  Barccelona,  but  edited  and  pub- 
lished by  the  German  Staff.  I  repeat  it.  The  'Gazette  des 
Ardennes'  is  the  newspaper  of  the  German  Staff,  which  at- 
tempts no  camouflage  whatever,  but  says: 

"  'We  are  printing  a  newspaper  in  French  for  the  benefit 
of  the  French  population  whose  territory  we  are  occupying.' 

"And  this  is  the  only  newspaper  which  our  unfortunate 
countrymen  in  the  invaded  territores  are  permitted  to  read. 

"M.  Marchand  also  discovered  something  else  of  vital  im- 
portance. Each  one  of  these  campaigns  is  subdivided  into  a 
certain  number  of  chapters.  He  found  the  same  number  of 
these  subivisions  in  the  'Gazette  des  Ardennes\  as  in  the 
'Bonnet  Rouge'.  Furthermore,each  of  these  subdivisions  de- 
velops its  arguments  in  exactly  the  same  way,  sometimes  with 
identical  phrases,  sometimes  word  for  word  the  same. 

"I  do  not  need  to  repeat  them.  I  simply  want  to  make  it 
clear  that  from  1916  on,  from  the  moment  that  Duval  be- 


238  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

came  the  administrator  and  money  lender  of  the  'Bonnet 
Rouge1,  it  began  a  campaign  in  complete  accord  with  the  in- 
terests of  the  German  Empire. 

"Let  us  call  this  campaign,  the  German  campaign.  Its 
object  was  to  procure  the  moral  failure  of  the  peoples  who 
were  combatting  Germany.  It  began  towards  the  end  of 
1914,  after  the  Battle  of  the  Yser. 

"Germany  then  realized  that  it  was  necessary  to  divide 
the  Allies,  to  weaken  their  energy,  to  exploit  all  their  em- 
otions, all  their  passions,  their  mournings,  their  lassitudes, 
their  sufferings,  their  errors,  their  illusions.  It  was  nesessary 
to  inflame  their  ambitions,  their  rancor,  their  cupidity,  their 
jealousies,  their  hatreds. 

"And  Germany  knew  exceedingly  well  how  to  do  this. 

"She  sought  first  of  all  to  lure  her  enemies,  to  lure  them 
with  the  hope  of  a  false  peace,  a  peace  without  a  victory. 
And  we  know  today  by  the  sad  examples  of  Russia  and 
Roumania,  what  peace  without  victory  means,  especially  when 
dealing  with  Germany. 

"Since  1914,  therefore,  Germany  tried  to  deceive  the  Allies 
with  the  illusion  of  a  peace  that  cloaked  defeat,  the  mirage  of 
peace,  a  mirage  in  which  one's  eyes  may  be  the  more  easily 
deceived,  because  of  the  fearful  nervous  strain  of  war,  the 
sufferings,  the  misery,  the  agony  of  war. 

"The  campaigns  of  the  ''Bonnet  Rouge"1  have  been  con- 
ducted with  a  cleverness  which  went  so  far  as  to  provide  for 
various  collaborators,  various  personalities,  who,  because  of 
honorable  records,  appeared  to  be  a  guarantee  of  patriotism 
that  would  reassure  public  opinion. 

"In  France  of  course,  it  has  not  been  possible  to  make  an 
epen  German  campaign,  and  the  newspaper  which  posted 
such  a  sign,  as,  'Maison  Allemande*  {German  House)  would 
have  stirred  the  population  of  Paris  to  mob  and  set  fire  to 
the  building. 

"The  editors  of  the  'Bonnet  Rouge''  were  too  prudent  to 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  239 

do  that.  They  were  too  resourceful.  They  had  many  dis- 
guises, and  one  was  their  campaign  of  seeking  to  make  the 
French  people  forget  the  German  crimes.  It  was  a  theme 
which  fitted  into  the  propaganda  of  the  German  Empire 
perfectly.  It  tried  to  influence  us  to  be  more  just,  if  I  dare 
use  that  expression,  towards  the  Germans.  Then  came  the 
campaign  of  suspicion.  It  was  directed  at  all  the  Allies  to 
embroil  them.  And  behind  these  two  campaigns  was  the  one 
German  purpose  of  turning  France  away  from  her  friends 
and  delivering  her  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

"The  'Bonnet  Rouge9  sought  even  to  direct  the  suspicions 
of  the  French  toward  themselves,  to  convince  them  that  they 
themselves,  were  responsible  for  the  war.  It  endeavored  to 
persuade  them  that  they  were  fighting  not  for  their  country, 
but  remote  and  unjust  conquests. 

"Then  there  was  the  campaign  for  an  immediate  peace,  a 
campaign  which  was  pushed  with  great  vigor.  And  when 
this  thought  had  sunk  deep,  the'Bonnet  Rouge9  began  a 
guarded  crusade  to  inspire  revolt  and  desertion. 

"I  was  speaking  a  moment  ago,  of  the  'Bonnet  Rouge's* 
offensive  against  hatred,  as  M.  Marchand  phrased  it.  I  do 
not  want  to  leave  that  phase  of  the  case  without  a  final 
thought. 

"When  we  consider  that  ten  of  our  departments  are  still 
under  the  German  heel,  when  we  hear  every  day  that  one  of 
our  ancient  cities  has  been  destroyed,  when  we  learn  that  still 
more  atrocities  have  been  perpetrated,  I  must  say  that  I  feel 
a  hatred  for  the  Germans,  a  hatred  which  will  persist  for 
centuries. 

"It  is  a  Holy  Hatred. 

"It  is  a  Holy  Hatred,  because,  when  a  people  has  done 
what  Germany  has  done,  that  people  and  that  government 
have  placed  themselves  outside  of  humanity  for  centuries. 

"I  am  looking  at  the  pages  of  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  to  give 


240  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

you  what  Duval  under  the  pen  name  of  M.  Badin  said  of 
people  animated  by  hatred. 

"In  an  article  of  August  1,  1916,  he  calls  them  'the  De- 
moniacs.' M.  Badin  means  that  those  who  are  crying  venge- 
ance for  German  crimes  are  demoniacs. 

"Now,  listen  to  something  still  more  perfidious. 

"It  followed  the  establishment  of  the  'Ligue  du  Souvenir' 
(League  of  Remembrance),  created  to  perpetuate  the  memory 
of  German  crimes  At  its  head  were  M.  Mirman,  prefect  of 
Meurthe-et-Moselle :  M.  Simon,  Mayor  of  Nancy;  and  M. 
Keller,  Mayor  of  Luneville;  all  well  qualified  to  know  what 
German  crimes  are.  These  gentlemen  explained  the  purpose 
of  their  organization,  as  follows :  • 

"  'What  will  happen  after  the  war?  We  do  not  wish  to 
try  to  predict  We  are  not  combatting  any  tendency.  We 
only  wish  to  dissipate  ignorance.  People,  according  to  their 
various  temperments  will  pardon  the  German  beast,  if  they 
wish  it  and  when  they  wish  it.  They  will  pardon  him  un- 
qualifiedly, or  according  to  certain  conditions,  but  first 
they  must  know  the  truth.' 

"What  is  the  'Bonnet  Rouge's'  reply  to  such  language? 
Here  it  is,  in  the  issue  of  October  18,  1916: 

"  'These  words  are  signed  by  Messers  Mirman,  Simon  and 
Keller.  I  cannot  fail  to  discover  in  them  a  sort  of  Jesuitism, 
which  frightens  me.  How  can  they  dare  affirm  that  they  are 
trying  to  influence  the  future  judgment  of  men,  when  they 
sow  hatred?  Is  it  our  task  to  ask  our  soldiers  that  they 
take  vengeance  under  the  hypocritical  pretext  of  justice?' 

"No  remembrance,  no  rancor,  no  hatred,  only  love,  yes, 
love.  Such  was  the  motto  of  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  of  April  18, 
1917.  I  quote  now  from  an  article  of  that  date. 

"  'We  protest  against  the  distribution  in  all  the  schools 
of  the  city  of  a  pamphlet  entitled,  'Their  Crimes',  which 
tends  to  develop  hatred  in  young  creatures,  who  were  only 
born  for  love.' 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  241 

"Yes,"  thundered  Lt.  Mornet,  suddenly  casting  the  news- 
paper aside,  and  exclaiming: 

"Only  born  for  love,  whom  the  Gothas  assassinate  at 
night." 

Opening  the  pages  of  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  again,  the  pro- 
secutor proceeded: 

"And  now  here  is  something  still  more  odious.  It  is  a 
story  put  into  the  mouth  of  someone  from  the  invaded 
territory,  and  reads: 

'  'War  is  not  a  cheerful  conversation.  One  must  not  show 
only  one  face  of  the  truth,  for  it  has  several.  For  instance, 
life  at  first  in  the  invaded  districts  was  quite  painful,  because 
the  newspapers  from  Paris  were  frightening  us  with  their 
stories  of  the  cruelties  of  the  invaders. 

'*  'As  soon  as  this  fright  passed  away  and  the  Germans 
prevented  the  Paris  papers  from  reaching  the  invaded  coun- 
tries, different  relations  were  established  between  the  con- 
querors and  the  people  of  the  invaded  regions.  There  were 
some  touching  scenes.  I  might  speak,  for  example,  of  the 
manner  in  which  a  German  major  took  care  of  our  sick,  and 
with  what  intelligent  methods  the  invaders  organized  some 
of  our  own  services.' 

"To  hear  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  speak,  the  German  is  gentle : 
he  is  incapable  of  doing  any  harm :  he  has  a  kind  soul.  When 
one  knows  him,  one  loves  him:  and  he  conquers  us  for  a 
second  time. 

"No,  I  do  not  exaggerate  at  all.  Judge  for  yourselves.  I 
quote  now  from  the  issue  of  February  22,  1917: 

"  'Preceded  by  the  .reputation  of  being  'wild  beasts',  the 
Germans  in  our  fields  of  France  have  conquered  our  peasants. 
These  Germans  are  gentle,  polite,  laborious.  'The  German 
prisoners  have  shown  that  they  possess  a  kind  soul.  They 
find  pleasure  in  things  which  are  neither  low  nor  coarse. 
Their  feelings  are  tinted  with  idealism.' 

"This  is  only  praise  for  the  German  soul.     Now  we  will 


242  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

listen  to  the  clear  voice  of  admiration.  An  article  in  Dec- 
ember 1915,  entitled,  'A  la  maniere  de  Romain  Roland'  (After 
Jie  style  of  Romain  Roland)  reads: 

"  'Why  should  I  exploit  the  pro  French  sentiments  of  an 
ignorant  people  and  yell  insults  at  the  nation,  which  gave 
birth  to  Kant  and  other  masters  of  the  new  man.  I  envy 
the  magnificent  dash,  the  fiery  passion  of  the  German  soul. 
I  wish  that  a  little  of  those  qualities  would  inflame  our  own 
minds.' 

"Now  for  the  other  side  of  the  picture.  In  contrast  with 
this  praise  of  Germany  appears  the  insidious  crusade,  which 
the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  waged  against  our  Allies,  and  especially 
England.  Let  me  quote  from  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  of  June  5, 
1916,  from  an  article,  entitled  The  Pans.  This  sentence  is 
enough : 

"  'We  know  'Pan  Germanism,'  'Pan  Slavism' ;  but  now  a 
third  'Pan'  looms  upon  the  horizon,  'Pan  Britainism.' 

"The  editors  of  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  do  not  wish  us  to  feel 
any  hatred  against  Germany,  but,  whenever  they  speak  of 
England,  they  seek  to  arouse  the  rancor  of  past  ages.  M. 
Badin  is  strangely  tenacious  in  this  policy.  On  July  14, 
1916,  he  writes: 

"  'The  suffragettes  have  just  organized  in  London  a  cor- 
tege, which  has  provoke  the  enthusiasm  of  the  imbeciles.  The 
thought  that  comes  to  me  out  of  this  banality  is  that  Saint 
Michael  and  Jeanne  d'  Arc  were  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
procession.  The  leader  of  the  suffragettes  has  undoubtedly 
heard  that  the  English  nation  has  forgotten  the  rather  lively 
quarrel  which  embroiled  it  with  the  Pucelle  d' Orleans  (The 
Maid  of  Orleans)  and  that  we  for  our  part  must  forget  the 
acrimonious  discussions,  which  we  had  at  the  time  of  Trafal- 
gar and  Waterloo.  A  lesson  good  for  reflection.' 

"The  Bonnet  Rouge  has  tried  to  persuade  the  French 
people,  that  they  have  been  doing  all  the  fighting,  that  for 
the  English  the  war  was  a  promenade,  a  play,  a  physical 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  243 

culture  exercise.  I  will  quote  'M.  BadinV  own  words,  from 
the  "Bonnet  Rouge'  of  June  21,  1916: 

"  'I  am  a  fervent  Anglophile.  When  so  many  people  con- 
sider the  war  a  tragedy,  even  a  cataclysm,  I  certainly  admire 
those  who  prefer  to  regard  it,  as  a  physical  culture  exercise.' 

"The  same  note  is  to  be  found  in  what  'M.  Badin'  said  in 
the  'Bonnet  Rouge*  of  June  24,  1916.  Let  me  quote  him 
again : 

"  'Some  peevish  minds  are  excited,  because  the  uniform  of 
our  brave  poilus  is  more  neglected  than  that  of  our  Allies. 
This  is  because  they  are  the  children  and  not  the  guests  of 
the  house.  Our  poilus  must  know  that  where  feasts  are  given, 
they  must  yield  to  our  guests  and  discreetly  efface  themselves. 
Anyhow,  have  they  not  the  battlefield  where  they  can  get  their 
due  and  proudly  place  themselves  in  the  lead? 

"  'I  do  not  want  to  be  suspected  of  even  wishing  to  insin- 
uate, that  all  the  fine  looking  and  well  groomed  soldiers,  who 
hoist  the  cockade  of  our  Allies  on  their  martial  helmets  for- 
get in  the  delights  of  a  great  city  the  rude  call  to  arms.  If 
they  rest  and  amuse  themselves,  they  will  be  the  more  spright- 
ly, when  it  is  necessary  to  come  to  the  rescue  and  take  the 
place  of  our  fallen  heroes.  In  a  long  war,  such  as  this  one, 
it  is  of  importance  to  provide  reserves.' 

"What  more  perfidious  argument?"  exclaimed  Lt.  Mornet 
pointing  his  guant  finger  at  Duval.  "What  could  be  more 
insidiously  conceived  to  fill  the  minds  of  the  French  people 
with  suspicions  and  hatreds  toward  their  allies?  Here  is 
another  example,  intended  to  wound,  to  offend  the  feelings 
of  the  French  to  the  very  quick.  On  September  8,  1916,  'M. 
Badin'  wrote: 

"  'The  remembrance  of  the  exigences  of  an  ardent  youth 
has  compelled  me  to  pity  our  Allies  for  the  absence  of  certain 
intimate  joys,  which  are  indespensable,  even  though  they  be 
corporal.  I  had  been  thinking  that  no  provision  had  been 
nade  for  such  a  situation.  But  how  ignorant  I  am.  They 


244  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

have  even  done  more  than  that.  They  have  been  contracting 
marriages  on  the  spot. 

"  'Numerous  weddings  have  been  celebrated  between  British 
soldiers  and  young  French  girls.  But  the  rapidity  of  these 
unions  has  not  always  permitted  the  newly  wed  British  to  be 
free  of  all  matrimonial  ties  in  their  own  country.  Some 
accidents  have  happened.  There  have  been  bigamies. 

"  'Next  year,  when  I  shall  go  to  spend  my  vacation  in  the 
Alps,  I  shall  take  inspiration  from  the  practical  methods  of 
the  Allies.  I  shall  temporarily  marry  a  native  girl,  who  will 
charm  my  nights  of  exile.  For  example,  Mile.  Chrysanthemum 
Savoyarde.' 

"Against  the  United  States,  we  also  find  the  'Bonnet  Rouge' 
aligned.  It  tried  to  keep  that  country  and  France  apart.  For 
nearly  a  year  we  find  in  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  a  continuous 
campaign  against  American  intervention.  'Why  do  they 
want  to  fight?'  was  the  daily  theme  of  the  articles  of  the 
'Bonnet  Rouge'  during  the  entire  year  of  1916 ;  and  when 
America  finally  broke  with  Germany,  Almereyda  informed  his 
readers  it  was  almost  a  catastrophy.  The  following  day,  he 
mastered  his  emotions,  but  with  a  perfidy  that  may  be  clearly 
seen.  He  said,  'Still  a  rupture  of  diplomatic  relations  does 
not  necessarily  mean  war.  Therein  lies  our  hope.' 

"Everything  was  not  yet  lost  for  Germany,  nor  for  the 
'Bonnet  Rouge'.  Almereyda  immediately  launched  a  series  of 
articles  in  which  he  did  not  cease  to  demonstrate  to  French 
readers  that  it  was  to  their  interest  that  the  United  States 
should  not  actively  participate  in  the  war.  He  wrote,  for 
example,  on  February  7, 1917 : 

"  'I  attempted  day  before  yesterday  to  examine  the  con- 
sequences of  the  last  act  of  M.  Wilson  and  tried  to  demon- 
strate that  every  medallion  has  a  reverse  side.  Already  a 
big  munition  manufacturing  company  has  been  advised  to 
cease  furnishing  munitions  abroad.  I  make  no  comment.' 

"On  April  16,  1917,  'M.  Badin'  wrote: 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  245 

:  'When  peace  shall  have  been  concluded,  no  matter  what 
the  terms  may  be,  does  one  think  that  humanity  will  be  better 
and  more  reasonable,  because  the  plenipotentiaries  of  Wash- 
ington shall  have  signed  the  treaty?' 

"I  have  been  speaking  of  the  campaigns  against  our  Allies 
and  American  intervention.  There  was  another  crusade  even 
more  dangerous.  The  'Bonnet  Rouge"  sought  to  show  that 
responsibility  for  the  war  should  not  fall  exclusively  on  the 
Germans.  I  have  here  an  article,  entitled :  'Words  of  an  Em- 
peror' from  the  'Bonnet  Rouge"  of  August  23,  1916.  It 
reads : 

'  'Having  declared  he  had  not  wished  this  war,  the  Em- 
peror said :  "I  have  not  the  presumption  to  think  that  history 
will  find  me  faultless.  In  a  certain  sense,  every  civilized  man 
in  Europe  should  have  his  share  of  responsibility  in  this  war." 

"  '  "Every  civilized  man."  Study  the  significance  of  this 
phrase  and  tell  me,  if  you  have  not  the  impression,  as  well  as 
I,  that  a  crime  against  humanity  has  been  committed,  for 
which  every  one  of  us  is  more  or  less  responsible.  To  be  sure 
we  did  not  declare  the  war,  but  listen.  The  Emperor  finished 
by  saying  that  the  French  people  were  dreaming  of  venge- 
ance. Do  you  not  think  (it  is  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  that  is  talk- 
ing) that  once  in  a  while  one  may  find  in  the  words  of  an 
Emperor  some  truth,  or  at  least  some  matter  for  reflection?'  " 

Thread  by  thread,  plot  by  plot  Lt.  Mornet  unraveled  the 
'Bonnet  Rouge*  conspiracy.  He  pointed  out  the  parts  which 
each  of  the  accused  had  played.  He  told  of  Duval's  miserly 
life,  his  entry  into  Aim erey da's  newspaper,  his  checks  from 
Marx. 

"One  cannot  but  wonder  if  a  part  of  the  enormous  sums 
which  Duval  received  from  Marx,"  he  said,  "did  not  go  direct- 
ly into  Almereyda's  pocket  to  satisfy  his  taste  for  luxury 
and  fast  life  during  the  eighteen  months  before  his  death. 
And  who  was  Almereyda?  A  gypsy  posing  as  a  great  lord, 
eaten  up  by  excesses  of  all  kinds,  a  veritable  human  rag. 


246  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Despite  his  apparent  power,  despite  his  seeming  wealth,  his 
two  villas,  his  two  mistresses,  his  fleet  of  automobiles,  and  all 
that,  Almereyda  became  only  a  tool  in  the  hands  of  Duval. 

"Duval  had  the  money.  Marion,  Landau  and  Goldsky  look- 
ed to  Duval  and  did  his  bidding  for  this  reason.  Vercasson 
brought  him  the  checks  of  Marx.  Leymarie  saw  that  he  got 
his  passport  and  the  check  that  had  been  seized.  They  all 
accommodated  themselves  to  his  will  and  they  are  all  guilty." 

After  telling  of  Duval's  various  trips  to  Switzerland,  Lt. 
Mornet  said:  "It  was  upon  his  return  from  his  last  journey, 
in  May,  1917,  that  the  150,000  franc  check  was  seized,  which 
led  to  the  collapse  of  this  house  of  iniquity.  Duval  has  tried 
to  explain  this  check  so  many  ways,  that  he  has  convicted 
himself  out  of  his  own  mouth.  With  his  own  hands  and 
through  Vercasson  Duval  received  nearly  one  million  francs 
of  German  gold." 

The  prosecutor  frequently  quoted  from  the  mass  of  doc- 
umentary evidence  piled  before  him.  Government  agents  had 
gathered  together  checks,  bank  books,  ledgers,  official  reports 
from  various  departments,  letters,  telegrams,  photographs  of 
signatures,  and  all  manner  of  other  data.  When  he  spoke  of 
the  contents  of  Caillaux's  Italian  safe  and  the  communication 
found  there  which  Caillaux  received  from  Marx,  Lt.  Mornet 
exclaimed : 

"Here  we  have  the  German  pay  master  putting  himself  at 
the  disposition  of  a  former  Premier  of  this  republic.  I  can- 
not refrain  from  uttering  the  name  of  Caillaux,  every  time  I 
come  across  it  in  a  case  of  treason." 

The  accused  were  all  adjudged  guilty.  Their  sentences 
were: 

Duval,  death. 

Marion,  ten  years  hard  labor. 

Joucla,  five  years  hard  labor. 

Landau,  eight  years  hard  labor. 

Goldsky,  eight  years  hard  labor. 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  247 

Leymarie,  two  years  in  prison  and  1,000  francs  fine. 

Vercasson,  two  years  in  prison  and  5,000  francs  fine. 

On  July  17,  1918,  the  day  before  the  French  and  Americans 
began  the  great,  Allied  drive  on  the  Marne — Aisne  front, 
which  marked  the  climax  of  the  war  and  the  beginning  of 
Germany's  collapse,  Duval  was  led  before  a  firing  squad  at 
Vincennes,  and  shot. 


CHAPTER  XX 

MALVY  ESCAPES 

Tried  Before  the  Senate,  as  a  High  Court — Confronted  by 
Host  of  Witnesses  Who  Reveal  his  Perfidy — Army  Reports 

Disclose  Mutinies  and  Rebellions  because  of  Propaganda 
of  Pacifists  he  Protected — American  Troops  Just  in  Time 

to  Save  France — Senators  Give  Malvy  only  a  Vacation 

The  demoralized  state  of  the  French  army  at  the  time  the 
United  States  went  to  the  rescue  of  the  Allies  was  set  forth 
in  bold,  black  outline  at  the  trial  of  Malvy,  before  the  Senate, 
as  a  High  Court.  The  final  sessions  began  July  16,  1918, 
the  day  before  Duval  was  executed.  Letters  from  French 
generals  were  read,  telling  of  the  disastrous  effect  of  the 
pacifist  propaganda  in  the  trenches,  the  camps,  the  hospitals, 
the  munition  plants,  the  railroads,  and  even  the  homes  of  the 
soldiers. 

M.  Merillon,  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Petitions  of  the 
Court  of  Cassation,  conducted  the  prosecution.  He  pro- 
duced a  mass  of  evidence  which  proved  that  Malvy,  the  tool 
of  Caillaux,  the  patron  of  the  'Bonnet  Rouge'  gang,  was 
chiefly  responsible  for  this  deplorable  situation.  He  showed 
that  Malvy  almost  succeeded  in  betraying  France  to  the 
enemy. 

That  Americans  may  still  better  understand  how  far  the 
venom  of  the  pacifist  movement  under  Malvy  had  poisoned 
public  opinion,  let  me  quote  from  a  high  officer  of  the  United 
States  Army,  who  made  this  statement  confidentially  before 
a  group  of  newspaper  men  aboard  the  transport,  Orizaba, 

248 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  249 

while  lying  in  the  harbor  of  Brest,  on  December  10,  1918. 
The  party  consisted  of  correspondents  on  their  way  to  the 
peace  conference.  He  said : 

"Brest  has  become  intensely  socialistic.  As  a  result  of 
the  pacifist  movement,  a  great  number  of  people  around 
here  have  wanted  to  end  the  war  at  any  cost.  Indeed,  the 
feeling  was  so  strong,  that  when  the  American  troops  began 
to  arrive  at  Brest,  some  of  the  pacifists  threw  stones,  crying : 

"  'Go  back  to  the  United  States.'  'You  will  only  make  the 
war  last  longer.'  'We  want  peace,  not  soldiers.'  " 

It  was  not  until  the  French  began  to  realize  that  such  a 
sentiment  was  only  the  insidious  and  iniquitous  outgrowth  of 
German  propaganda,  not  until  the  French  government 
through  the  fearless  efforts  of  Clemenceau  and  his  associates 
sought  to  purge  their  country  of  pacifism  and  defeatism,  did 
France  again  rise  in  all  the  glory  of  her  military  traditions 
and  drive  the  Teuton  invaders  back  to  the  Rhine. 

There  had  been  two  charges  against  Malvy: 

(1)  That  he  informed  the  enemy  of  various  military  and 
diplomatic  projects,  particularly  the  plan  of  attack  at  Che- 
min-des-Dames : 

(2)  That  he  assisted  the  enemy  by  provoking  or  inciting 
military  mutinies. 

These  accusations  had  grown  out  of  the  letter  of  Daudet 
to  President  Poincare,  branding  Malvy  a  traitor;  but  as  the 
result  of  a  long  investigation  the  Senate  decided  that  there 
was  no  proof  that  the  former  Cabinet  member  was  personally 
involved  in  these  treason  plots.  Daudet's  charges,  according- 
ly, were  abandoned.  Instead,  Malvy  was  tried  for  having 
"ignored,  violated  and  betrayed  his  duty",  as  a  minister. 

Very  pale,  very  nervous,  Malvy  sat  beside  the  bulky,  stolid 
Bourdillon,  his  chief  of  counsel.  With  Caillaux  behind  prison 
bars,  Malvy  had  become  a  changed  man  The  dynamo,  that 
kept  him  incandescent ;  the  hand,  that  made  him  such  a  brave 
marionette,  no  longer  gave  him  power  and  force.  As  he  sat 


250  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

and  listened  to  the  multitude  of  witnesses,  the  vast  array  of 
documents,  which  showed  he  had  permtted  France  to  waver 
on  the  verge  of  revolution  and  destruction,  he  seemed  almost 
to  wither  away.  Now  and  then,  as  when  interpellated  by  M. 
Merillon,  he  would  present  an  appearance  of  courage,  but  his 
paleness  betrayed  his  fear.  Despite  all  his  show  of  bravery, 
he  could  not  conceal  the  coward  within. 

The  prosecutor  told  of  the  ravages  of  pacificism,  defeatism, 
and  anarchy  because  Malvy  made  no  effort  to  stop  them.  He 
explained  how  all  these  agencies  were  aiding  the  enemy.  He 
said  that  Malvy  had  continued  for  three  years,  as  Minister  of 
the  Interior  in  the  successive  cabinets  of  Viviani,  Briand  and 
Ribot,  and  that  even  Painleve,  who  followed  Ribot,  tried  to 
whitewash  him.  In  revealing  the  cause  of  Malvy's  continued 
power,  M.  Merillon  declared: 

"When  Premiers  chose  their  ministers,  they  do  not  pick 
them  helter  skelter.  No.  They  chose  men  with  the  intention 
of  establishing  successful  administrations.  They  made  excell- 
ent selections  in  some  cases,  but  they  have  always  sought 
representatives  of  the  various  parties.  M.  Malvy  represent- 
ed the  Radical  Socialist  element. 

"This  Radical  Socialist  party  may  be  today,  I  do  not  say, 
separated,  but  rather  distant  from  its  former  chief.  But 
who  can  deny  that  in  this  party  there  was  a  man  with  great 
authority,  an  iron  will,  an  absolutely  boundless  ambition,  who 
lead  his  followers  with  supreme  authority?  I  speak  of  M. 
Caillaux. 

"In  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior,  M.  Malvy  was  always 
the  representative  of  his  chief,  the  representative  of  M.  Cail- 
laux. 

The  rapidly  increasing  demoralization  of  the  French  army, 
before  and  even  for  some  time  after  the  United  States  entered 
the  war,  was  revealed  in  many  amazing  details  in  the  report 
of  the  investigating  committee,  composed  of  Ernest  Monis, 
President:  Eugene  Peres,  (rapporteur);  Alexander  Berard, 


MALVY 

"His     paleness    belied     his    fear.     Despite   all   his   sho- 
of  bravery  he  could  not  conceal  the  coward  within." 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  251 

Theodore  Girard,  M.  de  Las  Cases,  Antony  Ratier,  Savary 
Valle,  Vidal  de  Saint-Urbain.  Under  the  heading  "Mutineries 
Generales",  the  report  contained  these  astounding  statements : 

"There  was  a  vast  military  plot,  upon  which  must  be  turned 
the  search  light  of  justice.  Proof  of  the  far  reaching  charac- 
ter of  this  conspiracy  is  abundant.  Many  instances  of  mut- 
iny among  the  troops  have  been  reported.  Take  the  statement 
of  Lt.  Col.  Dussange,  for  example,  which  he  made  in  a  war, 
report  of  June  5,  1917.  (two  months  after  the  United  States 
declared  war  against  Germany)  and  in  which  he  said: 

"  'On  June  2,  at  noon,  the.  .  .  .R.  I.  (a  regiment  of  infant- 
ry, whose  number  was  suppressed)  received  an  order  pre- 
paratory to  leaving  the  cantonment  at  Coeuvres  during  the 
following  night,  to  go  to  Bucy-le-Long. 

"  'I  at  once  communicated  this  order  to  the  battalions,  and 
it  could  easily  be  seen  that  it  would  be  executed  with  diffi- 
culty. To  tell  the  truth,  the  scandalous  spectacle  displayed 
by  other  units  on  preceeding  days  had  caused  a  noticeable 
uneasiness  among  the  troops. 

"  'On  May  30,  the.  ...  R.  I.  passed  through  our  canton- 
ments in  auto  trucks,  with  the  men  waving  red  banners,  sing- 
ing the  "International',  and  throwing  at  our  soldiers  cir- 
culars calling  a  'strike  and  rebellion'.  A  like  attitude  was 
noticed  the  following  day  among  the  men  of  Regiment.  . 
transported  likewise  in  auto  trucks. 

"  'However,  during  the  morning  of  June  2,  the  attitude  of 
the  regiment  was  excellent.  The  battalions  had  executed 
marches  and  exercises,  during  which  the  soldiers  did  not 
manifest  any  spirit  whatsoever  of  carelessness  or  unwilling- 
ness. But  towards  three  o'clock.  .  Company  refused  to  pack 
for  departure.  The  men  showed  they  were  well  organized. 
They  commited  no  acts  of  violence  and  conserved  a  courteous 
attitude  toward  their  officers.  But  they  refused  to  obey  orders. 

"  'Meanwhile, .  .  Company  was  mutining. 

"  'The  detachment  was  a  strong  one.    It  consisted  of. ... 


252  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

men,  all  armed.  It  refused  to  obey  me.  The  soldiers  with- 
out insulting  me,  without  pushing  me  out  of  the  way,  went 
off  to  the  right  and  left,  and  kept  on  going.  Many  saluted 
me. 

"  'From  this  point  they  scattered  through  Coeuvres  to  drag 
along  with  them  the ....  Battalion  by  shooting  into  the  air 
and  forcibly  compelling  their  comrades  to  follow  them.  The 
.  .  .  .Company  in  greater  part  took  part  in  the  mutiny.  A 
total  of.  ...  men  became  terrorized  and  followed  the  road 
to  Villers-Cotterets.  They  declare  that  they  were  marching 
toward  Paris.  They  had  already  joined  the.  .  .  .  men,  who 
were  waiting  for  them  in  the  forest  of  Compiegne.  Later 
many  came  back,  taking  advantage  of  the  darkness  of  the 
night.  The  remainder  did  not  go  beyond  the  woods  im- 
mediately south  of  Coeuvres.' 

"The  Coeuvres  mutiny  followed  the  mutiny  of  the.  .  .  . 
Infantry,  of  which  General  Petain  made  mention  at  the  end 
of  his  report  to  the  Minister  of  War  under  date  of  May  29, 
1917.  General  Petain  spoke  of  two  formations,  which  had 
decided  to  march  on  the  following  morning  toward  Paris.  He 
spoke  of  these  outbreaks  as  acts  of  insubordination,  'qui  se 
mtdtipliaient,  de  fafon  inquietante^  depuis  quelques  jours' 
(which  were  multiplying  in  an  alarming  manner  for  some 
days)." 

The  Peres  report  at  this  point  quotes  directly  from  Gen- 
eral Petain's  report,  omitting  the  names  of  divisions  and  other 
army  details  for  military  reasons.  The  General's  exact  lan- 
guage is  as  follows: 

"These  acts  of  insubordination  are  certainly  the  results 
of  organization,  and  are  developing  into  a  very  serious 
situation.  Here  are  some  examples: 

"May  4.  The.  .  .  .  was  ordered  to  take  part  in  the  new 
offensive  on  the  Moulin  de  Laffaux. 

"Leaflets  inviting  the  troops  not  to  march  and  saying 
'Down  with  the  war',  'Death  to  those  responsible  for  the  war', 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  253 

are  pasted  up  in  the  cantonments.  In  certain  battalions  of 
the.  .  .  .  the  men  declare  loudly  that  they  do  not  intend  to 
march,  that  they  will  not  fight  any  more,  while  their  comrades 
in  the  factories  are  getting  from  15  to  20  francs  a  day. 

"May  19.  At.  ...  A,  a  battalion  of  the.  .  .  .,  which  was 
ordered  to  relieve  a  battalion  of  the  first  line  during  the  night, 
scattered  in  the  woods,  and  it  took  all  night  to  get  them 
together  again.  It  was  not  able  to  relieve  the  other  battalion. 

"May  (  ?)  At.  .  .  .,  the  division  depot  of  the.  .  .  .  Regiment 
of  Infantry,  assigned  to  reinforce.  .  .  Regiment,  ran  through 
the  streets  of  the  cantonment,  chanting  the  'International'. 
They  ransacked  the  house  of  the  commander  of  the  depot, 
who  was  absent  at  the  moment,  then  a  little  later  they  sent 
'three  delegates'  to  this  officer,  to  present  their  complaints. 
The  next  morning,  the  troops  of  this  station  refused  to  ex- 
ercise. 

"May  26.  At  the .  .  .  . ,  some  soldiers  of  four  battalions, 
who  ought  to  go  back  to  the  trenches  of  the  sector  during 
the  evening  assembled  in  the  cantonment  of  the  military  head- 
quarters of  the  division.  Despite  all  the  efforts  of  the  com- 
mandant of  the  division,  of  the  colonel  of  one  of  the  regi- 
ments, and  of  a  number  of  other  officers,  the  soldiers  would 
not  leave  the  meeting  and  go  back  to  duty. 

"May  27.  A  battalion  of  the ....  Regiment  of  Infantry, 
which  had  been  resting  for  twenty  days  in  the  region  of  Fere- 
en-Tardenois,  was  ordered  to  get  into  motor  cars  between  23 
and  24  o'clock,  to  return  to  the  line.  A  little  before  the  hour 
for  departure,  a  band  of  ring  leaders,  excited  by  drink,  ran 
through  the  camp,  yelling  and  shooting  into  the  air.  They 
interfered  with  the  embarcation  of  their  comrades  to  such  an 
extent  that  many  soldiers  were  missing  at  sunrise.  One  party 
of  mutineers  showed  up  at  the  railroad  station  of  Fere  and 
wanted  to  get  aboard  a  train.  It  was  necessary  to  obtain  the 
intervention  of  a  strong  detachment  of  gendarmes  to  get  the 
men  into  auto  trucks  and  make  them  join  their  comrades. 


254  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"May  29.  Manifestations  in  the.  .  . ,  who  were  ordered  to 
march  in  the  morning.  They  sang  the  'International*  and 
cried,  'We  want  furloughs.'  'No  more  trenches.' ' 

After  these  quotations  from  General  Petain,  ,the  Peres  re- 
port continued. 

"These  are  only  a  few  examples  which  may  help  us  to  ap- 
preciate the  gravity  of  the  situation.  The  causes  are  to  be 
found  in  other  army  documents,  as  for  instance  the  reports 
of  Lt.  Col.  Dussange  and  other  reports  of  General  Petain. 
A  report  from  the  latter  says  : 

"  'These  manifestations  do  not  seem  to  be  directed  against 
army  commanders  but  against  the  government.  Our  men 
say  to  us,  "We  have  nothing  against  you,  our  grievance  is 
against  the  government.  Our  wives  are  starving.  They  are 
deceiving  our  wives  in  Paris.  We  wish  to  go  home  on  leave. 
The  government  refused  to  make  peace  when  Germany  offered 
it." 

"  'Some  of  the  men  keep  yelling,  "Revolution !  Revolution!" 

"  'The  causes  of  this  dangerous  ferment  are : 

"'(1)  Pamphlets  which  are  distributed  at  the  railroad 
stations  in  Paris. 

"  '(2)   Agents  who  slip  into  the  cantonments  wearing  uni- 
forms not  familiar  to  the  corps,  and  who  incite  the  men. 
Contact  with  Russian  brigades. 
Newspaper  articles. 

"  '(5)  A  hope  of  not  being  punished  for  their  acts  as  a 
result  of  restrictions  imposed  upon  the  councils  of  war. 

"  *(6)  Increase  of  drunkenness  in  the  army,  as  a  result  of 
the  difficulty  experienced  by  the  command  in  preventing  wines 
from  being  brought  into  the  zone,  and  also  because  of  the 
abundance  of  money  which  the  soldiers  get  on  leaving  the 
trenches  (sometimes  called  "trench  indemnity  money"). 

"  '(7)  The  attitude  of  the  workingmen,  who  have  been 
mobilized.  Also  pacifist  meetings  in  the  interior. 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  255 

"  '(8)  Popular  movements  which  are  now  taking  place  in 
Paris. 

"  'These  movements  have  deep  roots  in  the  interior  of 
France.  Accordingly,  as  a  result  of  the  furlough  system, 
which  cannot  be  changed,  the  front  is  bound  to  the  rest  of 
France.  (Soldiers  are  constantly  going  and  coming,  con- 
stantly bringing  back  all  they  hear  in  the  interior).  There- 
fore the  whole  situation  may  at  any  time  become  very  grave, 
and  I  cannot  insist  too  strongly  upon  adopting  vigorous 
measures  for  remedying  these  conditions.  The  most  necessary 
things  to  do  are  the  following: 

"  '(1)  To  stop  the  circulation  of  pamphlets  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  railroad  stations  in  Paris.  Those  who  distribute  these 
pamphlets  are  well  known. 

"  '(2)  To  take  steps  against  mobilized  officers,  soldiers 
and  workingmen,  who  frequent  pacifist  gatherings  in  the 
hinterland,  and  at  once  to  send  them  back  to  the  front. 

"  '(3)   To  direct  and  to  watch  the  press  closely. 

"'(4)   To  repress  immediately  what  is  found  harmful.' 

"The  depression  prevailing  in  the  army  after  the  failure  of 
the  Champagne  offensive  was  the  result  of  the  pacifist  move- 
ment, the  red  flag,  the  ' International',  the  organization  of  a 
system  of  insubordination. 

"The  mental  attitude  of  the  troops  has  been  affected  by  a 
prolonged,  continuous  campaign.  This  may  be  seen  by  such 
statements  among  the  soldiers,  as  these: 

"  'The  failure  of  the  offensive  means  the  end  of  command. 
Victory  is  impossible.  Russia  is  running  toward  a  separate 
peace.  Why  do  we  not  stop  the  struggle?  Formerly  one 
hundred  years  behind  us,  Russia  is  now  a  century  ahead.  The 
government  is  concealing  the  truth.  Continuation  of  the 
war  means  famine.  No  more  coal.  No  more  bread.  Foreign- 
ers are  replacing  the  combattants.  Time  is  consolidating  the 
invasion.' 

"In  these  words  is  to  be  found  the  gospel  of  anarchy.  They 


256  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

reecho  the  subjects  of  pacifist  meetings,  the  themes  of  paci- 
fist newspapers  and  pamphlets.  Such  thoughts  have  pro- 
duced gradually  in  the  brains  of  men  a  state  of  morbid 
sensitiveness,  of  emotional  receptivity,  of  weak  mental  re- 
sistance, which  will  surge  into  a  tremendous  force  in  a  mom- 
ent of  crisis. 

"Other  reasons  for  the  depressed  spirit  of  the  troops  are: 

"(1)  The  exaltation  of  the  Russian  revolution  and  its 
methods  by  such  newspapers  as  the  'Bonnet  Rouge',  the 
'Journal  of  the  People',  the  'Popular  Voice  of  the  Center', 
the  'Republican  Trench',  and  the  'Motherland',  thanks  to  the 
failures  of  the  censorship  or  in  spite  of  its  injunctions. 

"(2)  The  regular,  if  not  official  meetings  of  the  pacifists, 
under  cover  of  so  called  corporative  reunions. 

"(3)  The  encouragement  of  insubordination  and  desertion 
by  such  men,  as  Sebastien  Faure,  who  have  been  openly  aiding 
culprits  seeking  shelter  in  Paris. 

"(4)  The  Stockholm  conference. 

"(5)  The  calumnious  story  of  the  killing  of  women  by  the 
Annamites  and  the  police,  a  story  which  grew  out  of  an  in- 
significant scuffle,  but  which  was  so  greatly  magnified,  that 
on  May  17,  1917,  the  Committee  of  Understanding  of  the 
Syndicalist  Young  Men  issued  a  proclamation,  that  the  police, 
not  satisfied  with  massacring  Chinese  workmen  at  Firminy, 
were  beating  the  seamstress  strikers  in  Paris.  On  June  1, 
the  'Les  Amis  De  Ce  Qu  'II  Faut  Dire',  (The  Friends  of  What 
Must  Be  Told)  a  revolutionary  newspaper,  even  went  further 
and  said : 

"  'Those  at  the  front  will  not  permit  with  impunity  the 
heads  of  the  government  to  massacre  their  wives  and  their 
children,  after  causing  them  by  their  carelessness  to  suffer 
from  cold  and  hunger.' 

"On  June  2,  the  Ninth  Section  of  the  Unified  Socialist 
Party  announced,  'The  government  has  recalled  from  the 
front  cavalry  regiments  all  Annamites  and  colored  troops 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  257 

who  are  practicing  with  machine  guns.  For  there  are  many 
machines  guns  hidden,  which  will  be  turned  on  you.' 

"On  June  4,  Pericat  declared  before  1000  strikers  of  the 
Citroen  establishment  (one  of  the  largest  munition  plants  in 
France),  'The  Annamites,  the  guardians  of  peace,  the  mun- 
icipal guards,  are  ready  to  massacre  you  with  their  machine 
guns.' 

"Thus  we  may  see  how  the  various  defeatist  agents  are 
using  silly  rumors  to  frighten  and  demoralize  the  people. 

"(6)  The  belief  of  a  revolution,  which  was  to  break  out  in 
May  and  be  followed  by  a  revolt  on  the  front.  In  April  at 
Roanne  a  cortege  of  6000  strikers  marched  through  the 
streets,  shouting,  'Down  with  the  war'.  They  tore  down  the 
flag  of  the  sub  prefecture. 

"The  Prefect  of  the  Loire  has  called  the  attention  of  the 
authorities  to  the  dangerous  work  of  revolutionary  and  paci- 
fist agents  in  the  basin  of  St.  Etienne.  Letters  which  are 
spreading  the  ill  winds  of  revolt  are  coming  from  such  agit- 
ated regions  as  (St.  Etienne,  Lyons,  Levallois-Perret,  the 
XI,  XVIII,  and  XX  arrondissements  of  Paris,  Rouen,  and 
Moulins).  And  these  letters  reflect  the  talk  in  the  trenches, 
brought  back  by  the  soldiers  who  have  been  on  furlough. 

"Some  soldiers  have  even  mingled  with  the  paraders.  Others 
still  bolder,  took  the  stump  to  'bring  to  the  strikers  the 
support  of  the  poilus',  as  may  have  been  seen  at  the  meetings 
of  the  women  garment  and  feather  workers  on  May  27,  1917. 
They  spread  the  cry : 

"  'Enough  people  have  been  killed.'  'Give  us  peace*.  'The 
women  want  peace  and  their  rights'. 

"Hubert  leads  the  military  garment  workers,  the  building, 
and  the  metal  workers.  Van  Loup  shouts  to  the  morocco 
leather  workers  on  May  27 ;  'If  the  nation  does  not  want  to 
start  a  revolution,  let  the  soldiers  do  it.'  On  June  4,  Hubert 
and  Merrheim  yell  to  the  working  women  of  the  Citroen  es- 
tablishment ; 


258  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"  'You  women  should  come  down  into  the  street  and  end 
the  war.'  "  'Strikes  lead  to  revolution.' 

"Indeed,  we  should  seek  the  agents  of  revolution  among  the 
soldiers  themselves.  An  army  report  of  June  6,  1917,  con- 
cludes : 

"  'The  instigators  of  this  movement  are  said  to  be  the  men 
of  the  1917  class,  recently  arrived  at  the  front,  having  come 
from  the  interior.  Others  had  been  on  leave  to  recuperate. 
Many  are  reported  to  belong  to  such  industrial  centers  as 
St.  Etienne  and  Firminy.  Small  circulars  are  being  distri- 
buted by  civilians  as  well  as  soldiers  on  the  trains  among 
troops  returning  to  the  front  from  furlough.  They  are 
entitled : 

"  'Peace  without  conquests,  without  annexations,  without 
indemnities.' 

"  'Your  mouths !'  'Stockholm'.    One  reads : 

"  'Come  on,  comrades.  Let  us  be  serious  and  couragous  for 
once.  The  civilians  are  depending  on  the  soldiers,  and  the 
soldiers  count  on  the  civilians  for  action  in  favor  of  peace. 
Come  on  slumberers,  come  on,  parlor  critics.  This  is  not  the 
hour  for  talking,  but  acting.  We  must  have  peace.  Our 
comrades  of  the  provisional  government  of  Russia  are  invit- 
ing us  to  speak  of  peace  at  Stockholm.  We  must  go  there. 
(Signed,)  The  Pacifist  Committee  of  the  French  Working- 
men  and  Soldiers.' 

"Several  unfortunates,  who  had  taken  the  initative  in  one 
rebellion  confessed  while  being  led  away  to  the  place  of  ex- 
ecution. One  belonging  to  the  Tenth  Army  admitted  that  he 
was  obeying  the  commands  of  a  central  organization  of  the 
interior,  whose  agents  were  duty  bound  to  spread  its  in- 
structions among  the  troops.  Another  said : 

"  'The  movement  has  been  organized  by  a  few  with  whom 
we  are  in  constant  correspondence.  The  order  for  a  re- 
volution was  given  for  a  fixed  date  in  certain  regiments  as 
well  as  the  18th  R.  I.  At  the  same  time  three  other  regiments 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  259 

were  to  refuse  to  march.  We  were  easily  led.  Things  were 
not  ready.' 

"In  view  of  these  facts  was  it  not  possible  to  learn  who  were 
the  directors  of  this  rebellion  and  to  seize  them?  Yet,  no- 
thing was  done.  No  organizers  have  been  caught.  No  effort 
was  made  to  catch  the  central  body.  The  only  activity  thus 
far  has  been  limited  to  a  few  individual,  isolated  cases. 

"In  the  light  of  these  facts  the  statement  of  Ventillard,  of 
the  'Committee  of  Defense'  and  the  'Syndicalist  Young  Men', 
is  significant.  On  June  8,  to  the  'Committee  of  Understand- 
ing for  the  Resumption  of  International  Relations,'  he  said: 

"  'In  this  movement  there  has  been  neither  order  nor  man- 
agement, but  a  tenaciousness,  which  is  constantly  revealing 
itself.  The  nation  has  demonstrated  that  it  wanted  to  escape 
from  bondage.  The  French  nation  has  been  a  nation  of 
sheep.  But  this  time  we  shall  come  down  the  street  with 
revolvers  and  handgrenades.  Then  you  will  see  that  regi- 
ments will  mutiny  one  after  another.  We  shall  place  our- 
selves at  the  head  of  the  movement.' ' 

In  declaring  that  Malvy  was  chiefly  responsible  for  this 
perilous  situation,  Prosecutor  Merillon  said : 

"The  complicity  charge  against  M.  Malvy  is  not  the  com- 
plicity of  a  bandit,  who  would  be  on  the  watch;  but  of  an- 
other nature  equally  as  grave.  It  is  the  complicity  of  a  man 
who  has  a  duty  and  who  does  not  perform  it,  who  instead  of 
using  the  machinery  of  his  ministry,  of  the  police,  the  secret 
service,  the  passport  bureau,  to  detect,  arrest,  and  bring  to 
justice  the  enemies  within,  did  nothing.  Worst  than  that, 
he  has  even  encouraged  some  of  these  malefactors  with  sub- 
sidies. 

"M.  Malvy  must  be  held  absolutely  responsible  for  the 
acts  of  his  subordinates.  He  himself  assumed  this  respon- 
sibility. Those  who  were  working  under  his  orders,  the  Pre- 
fect of  Police,  the  Director  of  the  Surete  Generate,  well  under- 
stood that  they  could  not  act  under  certain  circumstances. 


260  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

They  knew  they  were  bound  by  a  rule,  which  I  may  translate 
as  follows : 

"  'Nothing  must  be  done,  no  matter  what  the  crime,  if  com- 
mitted under  the  high  protection  of  certain  personages,  as 
for  example,  the  workingmen's  syndicates  or  the  General  Fed- 
eration of  Labor.' 

"In  such  crimes,  we  discover  that  certain  instructions  were 
always  given,  and  that  these  instructions  whether  eminating 
from  the  Prefect  of  Police  or  Surete  Generale,  were  the  orders 
of  M.  Malvy." 

M.  Merillon  read  from  the  police  records  the  lists  of  agit- 
ators, anarchists  and  all  round  criminals,  which  Almereyda 
had  made  Malvy  liberate.  He  proved  that  the  Apache  aditor 
of  the  'Bonnet  Rouge*  was  a  constant,  welcome  visitor  at 
the  Ministry.  He  read  his  letters  to  Malvy  and  Malvy's 
assistants,  asking  for  favors  which  were  never  refused.  He 
exhibited  hundreds  of  complaints  against  pacifists  and  defeat- 
ists, who  were  holding  meetings,  distributing  literature,  mak- 
ing stump  speeches,  but  all  to  no  effect.  He  showed  how  the 
Second  Bureau,  consisting  of  army  police,  tried  to  detect  and 
arrest  these  criminals,  and  how,after  constant  clashes  with 
the  police  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior,  Malvy  had  the 
Second  Bureau  suppressed. 

One  of  the  most  striking  examples  of  the  way  Malvy's  min- 
istry killed  any  investigation  that  would  interfere  with  the 
pacifists,  said  M.  Merillon,  was  the  Mauricius  affair. 

"Mauricius,"  he  continued,  "belonged  to  the  Sebastien 
Faure  group.  He  lectured  for  the  purpose  of  preventing 
laboring  men  from  working  for  the  national  defense.  M. 
Blanc,  a  special  commissary,  reported  to  Second  Lt.  Bruy- 
and,  that  the  production  of  the  workshops  of  Bourges  was 
less  than  50  per  cent,  of  normal  because  of  anti  war  propag- 
anda. M.  Blanc  said  the  propagandists  were  working  openly 
throughout  the  town.  Among  the  pamphlets  distributed  was 
one  entitled,  'The  Conference  of  Zimmerwald'.  Collections 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  261 

were  also  being  raised  in  the  streets  for  Se"bastien  Faure's 
*Bee  Hive.'  Blanc's  investigations  showed  that  this  propag- 
anda emanated  from  the  German  'Social  Demokratie.'  When 
.he  Surete  Generate  received  M.  Blanc's  report,  it  prepared 
,:he  following  letter  for  the  Minister  of  Munitions,  M.  Albert 
Thomas,  to  be  signed  by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior. 

"  'I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  the  anarchistic 
group  called  'Les  Amis  De  Ce  Qu'  II  Faut  Dire',  organized  at 
Bourges  by  70  workmen  had  decided  to  hold  a  meeting  on 
April  1.  The  subject  for  discussion  will  be: 

"'"The  International,  the  Causes  of  the  War."  The 
Parisian  anarchist  Vandammes,  called  Mauricius,  will  speak.' 

"This  letter  was  never  sent  to  M.  Albert  Thomas.  It  re- 
mained in  the  archives  of  the  Surete  Generate,  with  a  beauti- 
ful *ATo'  written  upon  it.  M.  Malvy  says  he  knows  nothing 
about  it." 

In  conclusion  M.  Merillon  said: 

"If  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  had  not  reserved  his  favors 
for  such  a  criminal  as  Almereyda ;  and  his  courtesies  for  such 
anarchists,  as  Mauricius,  but  instead  had  devoted  his  days 
and  nights  to  directing  all  the  forces  of  his  department  ac- 
cording to  the  standard  of  service  of  our  heroic  army  at 
the  front,  we  would  not  have  had  to  witness  the  military  dis- 
orders of  June,  1917,  or  unearth  these  scandals  of  the  pres- 
ent hour. 

"What  do  you  think  of  a  Ministry  of  the  Interior  which 
permitted  the  foes  within  to  go  unmolested,  while  our  soldiers 
were  fighting  and  bleeding  and  dying  on  the  battle  field  to 
save  France  from  the  foes  without? 

"What  an  insult!    What  a  reproach!    What  a  disgrace? 

"What  a  betrayal  of  France? 

"And  of  all  these  culprits  who  have  been  exposed  in  our 
very  midst  the  chief  has  been  M.  Malvy." 

What  was  the  verdict? 


262  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Did  these  Senators  after  learning  the  monstrous  perfidy 
of  this  high  government  official,  of  the  man  who  almost  de- 
livered their  country  to  the  enemy,  vote  immediately  and 
unanimously  the  extreme  penalty? 

No. 

They  decided  the  law  would  not  permit  drastic  punishment. 
After  much  discussion  they  concluded  that  the  maximum 
penalty  for  Malvy  was  a  five  year  exile  and  a  paltry  fine  of 
$300.  They  did  not  even  take  away  his  civil  rights.  Accord- 
ingly, when  his  five  years  of  vacation  are  ended,  he  may  come 
back  to  his  old  haunts  and  enjoy  all  his  old  time  privileges. 

On  August  11,  1918,  Malvy  left  Paris  for  a  villa  at  San 
Sebastian,  Spain.  A  deputation  from  the  semi  revolutionary 
General  Labor  Federation  escorted  him  to  the  train  and 
cheered,  as  he  was  about  to  step  aboard.  When  asked  by  a 
reporter  how  he  intended  to  spend  his  exile  he  answered: 

"Wait." 

Aboard  the  train  was  a  bearded  poilu,  who  sprang  from 
his  seat,  when  he  heard  the  cheering,  and  thrust  his  head 
through  the  window. 

"Who  is  the  man  for  whom  they  are  yelling?"  asked  the 
soldier.  At  that  moment  the  socialists  swung  their  caps  over 
their  heads  and  cried  lustily : 

" Vive  Malvy!"     "Vive  Caillaux!" 

"What!  Is  that  Malvy?"  exclaimed  the  poilu.  "Is  that 
the  man  who  betrayed  France?"  And  rushing  out  on  the 
platform,  brandishing  his  trench  helmet,  as  if  to  strike  down 
the  whole  party,  he  shouted: 

"Vive  la  France!" 

The  socialists  slunk  away,  and  with  a  quick,  nervous  step 
Malvy  fled  from  the  poilu  and  jumped  aboard  the  train. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  ASSUMES  NEW  FORMS 

Peace  Treaty  Signed,  but  War  Continues — Germany's  Dream 
of  Trade  Conquest — Her  Latest  Propaganda  Plots — The 
Oriental  League — French  Socialists  Still  Serve  Germany — 
Berlin  Stirs  Up  Irish  in  America — Big  American  Army 
May  be  Again  Needed  for  France — The  Franco- Amer- 
ican Treaty — At  the  "Door  of  the  Virgin" — Immortal 
France 

It  was  the  night  of  June  28,  1919.  A  few  hours  before 
in  the  Hall  of  Mirrors  at  Versailles  the  delegates  of  the  Allies 
and  Germany  had  signed  the  treaty,  which  officially  ended  the 
great  world  war.  After  nearly  five  years  of  the  most  mom- 
entous, most  stupendous  conflict  in  the  history  of  man,  peace 
at  last  seemed  to  have  come  again. 

At  a  table  on  the  sidewalk  in  front  of  a  glittering  cafe 
near  the  Opera  on  the  Boulevard  des  Italiens  there  sat  an 
American,  a  Frenchman  and  a  Britisher.  All  were  Colonels. 
The  American  and  Englishman  were  on  "Paris  leave".  The 
Frenchman  was  attached  to  a  military  department  with  offices 
not  far  from  the  Seine.  They  had  stopped  only  for  a  moment 
to  watch  the  gay  crowds  stream  by.  Not  since  Paris  went 
mad  on  "Armistice  Night"  had  the  populace  seemed  so  happy, 
so  on  tiptoe  for  a  frolic,  as  now. 

Soldiers  in  brilliant  uniforms  from  all  the  Allied  armies, 
smartly  dressed  women,  groups  of  boys  singing  the  Mar- 
seillaise, strangers  in  various  garbs,  who  had  come  to  Paris 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  immediately  after  the  armistice 

263 


264  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

and  who  still  remained,  and,  gayest  of  all,  the  Paris  shop 
girls,  who  can  dress  at  night  with  an  elegance  peculiarly  their 
own ;  all  these  types  and  many  more  swept  by.  Further  away 
from  the  Opera,  where  the  Boulevard  des  Italiens  bends  into 
the  Boulevard  Montmartre  and  continues  on,  as  the  Boulevard 
Poissonniere,  the  Boulevard  de  Bonne  Nouville  and  the  Boule- 
vard St.  Martin,  merry  crowds  were  dancing  in  the  street  to 
the  lively  strains  of  the  violin  or  accordion.  They  danced 
their  native  dances  in  so  quick  a  measure,  that  the  few  Ameri- 
can soldiers  who  tried  a  step  or  two  became  completely  be- 
wildered. Now  and  then  through  the  multitude,  a  huge 
German  cannon,  one  of  the  thousands  that  line  the  Avenue 
des  Champs-Elysees  to  bear  witness  of  the  old  brutish  power 
of  Germany  over  which  France  had  triumphed,  came  rumbling 
along,  drawn  by  a  troop  of  merry  makers  and  carrying  upon 
its  ugly  back  a  bevy  of  singing  girls. 

The  three  men  talked  of  what  peace  meant  to  France,  and 
then  the  American  asked : 

"How  can  France  have  real  peace  as  long  as  the  socialists 
remain  so  powerful?  Because  of  their  influence  Malvy  prac- 
tically escaped  and  Caillaux  still  remains  in  prison  untried. 
By  the  way,  how  long  has  he  been  awaiting  trial?  About  a 
year  and  a  half,  I  think.  Is  that  not  true?" 

"Caillaux  was  arrested  on  January  14,  of  last  year,"  re- 
plied the  Frenchman.  I  remember  the  day  perfectly,  be- 
cause I  saw  him  in  La  Sante." 

"These  socialists  in  France  are  still  working  in  the  inter- 
ests of  Germany,"  continued  the  American.  "Take  Jean 
Longuet,  Deputy  of  the  Seine,  for  example.  In  his  Populaire 
he  has  been  doing  all  he  can  to  smash  the  treaty.  He  leads 
in  the  cry,  'Do  not  take  vengeance  on  Germany.'  He  would 
prevent  France  from  obtaining  from  Germany  any  substant- 
ial reparation  for  all  the  destruction  and  devastation,  which 
she  has  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  Huns.  But  tell  me,  why 
does  not  the  government  try  Caillaux?  Is  it  afraid?" 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  265 

"Caillaux  still  has  many  friends,"  replied  the  Frenchman. 
"He  boasts  that  he  will  go  free.  He  says  no  one  will  dare 
bring  him  to  trial,  for  then,  like  Samson,  he  will  pull  down 
the  house  in  ruins  on  the  heads  of  his  accusers." 

"Or  to  use  another  metaphor,"  interrupted  the  English- 
man. "If  they  try  to  smash  his  glass  house,  he  will  smash 
theirs?" 

"Exactly,  and  for  that  reason,  the  best  place  for  Caillaux 
during  these  perilous  days  is  behind  the  walls  of  La  Sante". 
However,  we  will  have  our  national  elections  next  fall,  and 
then,  I  believe,  a  great  many  of  the  socialists  who  have 
played  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  and  who  are  still  doing 
everything  possible  to  embarrass  Clemenceau  and  disrupt  the 
Peace  Conference  will  be  thrown  out  of  office.  The  French 
people,  as  a  people,  are  intensely  patriotic.  They  put  social- 
ism into  power  before  the  war,  when  they  did  not  believe  the 
warning  that  the  socialistic  cry  against  stronger  armaments 
and  greater  military  preparedness  was  German  propaganda 
of  the  most  vicious  and  insidious  sort." 

"In  the  meantime  will  all  the  other  internal  enemies  of 
France  escape?"  asked  the  American.  "What  has  happened 
to  Humbert,  Lenoir  and  Desouches  of  Le  Journal?" 

"Humbert  was  acquitted.  Lenoir  was  condemned  to  death. 
Desouches  was  sentenced  to  five  years  in  jail,"  replied  the 
French  officer.  "The  decisions  were  handed  down  May  8." 

"Humbert  declared  innocent!"  exclaimed  the  American. 
"How  could  that  be?  Was  he  not  mixed  up  with  both  Bolo 
and  Lenoir?  Bolo  was  executed  and  now  Lenoir  is  proved 
as  bad  as  Bolo.  What  is  the  answer?" 

"The  court  held  that  Senator  Humbert  did  not  know  that 
the  money ,which  Bolo  and  Lenoir  obtained  from  Le  Journal, 
was  German  money.  I  have  quite  a  number  of  papers  in  my 
apartment,  which  is  only  a  few  steps  from  here ;  and,  if  you 
gentlemen  would  like  to  accompany  me,  I  should  be  glad  to 
let  you  see  them.  They  explain  not  only  the  Journal  case,  but 


266  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

a  good  many  other  things,  of  which  most  people  in  England 
and  America  are  uninformed  and  which  they  should  know. 
They  will  show  that  Germany  is  still  fighting  for  supremacy, 
that  in  other  and  still  more  insidious  way  she  is  scheming  to 
disrupt  the  Allies,  to  stir  up  within  them  social  and  labor 
hatreds,  to  incite  class  jealousies,  to  keep  all  the  rest  of  the 
world  in  a  ferment  while  German  merchants  and  manufac- 
turers put  their  house  in  order  and  build  up  a  new  and  a 
greater  commercial  and  industrial  empire." 

A  sad  faced  girl  in  Alsatian  costume  had  worked  her  way 
through  the  crowds  to  the  table,  where  the  three  men  sat, 
and  held  out  a  picture  of  Clemenceau  encircled  with  a  wreath 
of  flowers.  Below  was  inscribed: 

"The  Man  Who  Saved  France." 

The  French  Colonel  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  bowing  gal- 
lantly, he  said : 

"Yes,  I  want  your  picture.  Whenever  I  can  do  honor  to 
this  greatest  of  Frenchman  I  want  to  do  so.  But  why  so 
sad,  madamoiselle?  Every  one  should  be  happy  tonight." 

"I  try  to  be,"  she  stammered,  "but  I  cannot  forget.  The 
war  took  my  father  and  four  brothers,  and —  The 

tears  glistened  in  her  eyes,  but  she  conquered  them.  In  a 
quieter  voice,  she  said:  "Mother  died  yesterday,  and  so  to- 
night sister  and  I  are  selling  'Clemenceaus.5 ' 

The  three  officers  bought  all  the  "Clemenceaus"  in  the  little 
girl's  basket,  paying  many  times  their  original  price;  and, 
as  she  was  still  repeating,  "Merci  beaucoup,  Messieurs,  merci 
beaucoup,  Messieurs,"  they  turned  from  the  cafe  into  the 
throngs  of  the  street  and  strolled  along  past  the  Opera  into 
the  Boulevard  des  Capucines.  Soon  the  French  Colonel  led 
them  into  a  side  street,  and  a  moment  later  ushered  them  into 
a  big,  airy  room,  whose  windows  looked  out  upon  a  balcony 
edged  with  flowers  and  vines.  Wrhen  his  guests  were  seated 
on  either  side  of  a  long,  green-topped  table,  he  unlocked  his 
desk  and  drew  out  a  huge,  black  portfolio. 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  267 

"You  were  asking  me  about  Humbert  and  the  Journal,"  he 
began,  as  he  sorted  out  a  number  of  papers.  "To  under- 
stand Humbert's  side  of  it,  you  should  read  his  'apologie',  as 
he  called  it,  printed  in  Le  Journal,  October  4,  1918.  Here,  I 
will  read  an  extract.  Humbert  said : 

"  'My  lifework  was  in  danger  It  was  the  most  decisive  and 
critical  moment  in  my  career.  It  was  in  July  1915,  when  our 
field  artillery  was  visibly  dwindling  owing  to  bursting  guns, 
and  when  the  Senatorial  Commission  had  to  wring  from  the 
Government  the  measures  which  were  our  salvation.' 

"Well,"  continued  the  French  Colonel.  "Humbert  explain- 
ed that  he  went  to  Henri  Letellier,  propietor  of  Le  Journal, 
and  got  the  latter's  promise  that  if  Le  Journal  were  sold, 
Humbert  would  be  one  of  the  purchasers.  Pierre  Lenoir  and 
Guillaume  Desouches,  the  other  buyers,  did  not  want  Hum- 
bert in.  They  said  their  money  came  from  Lenoir's  father, 
an  advertising  contractor.  Humbert  investigated,  and  when 
he  found  that  Lenoir  had  received  a  1,000,000  franc  com- 
mission for  the  deal  he  became  especially  suspicious.  Ac- 
cordingly, he  simply  forced  himself  in  to  save  Le  Journal 
from  going  to  strange  and  perhaps  evil  hands.  He  finally 
compelled  Lenoir  and  Desouches  to  sell  him  1,100  of  their 
2,000  shares. 

"To  pay  for  these  shares  Humbert  had  to  get  money,  and 
when  Bolo  came  along  with  the  necessary  cash,  he  took  it. 
Later,  when  he  learned  that  Bolo's  money  was  also  German, 
he  paid  Bolo  back." 

"That  is  Humbert's  story?"  questioned  the  Britisher. 

"Yes," 

"And  how  did  Lenoir  get  his  money  from  Germany  ?"  asked 
the  American. 

"Arthur  Schoeller,  a  director  of  the  Schaffhausen  and 
Derendingen  spinning  mills,  in  Zurich,  Switzerland,  gave 
Lenoir  10,000,000  francs  to  buy  Le  Journal.  Schoeller  ad- 
mitted this  before  his  fellow  directors,  Koch  and  Hoffmann. 


263  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Schoeller  said  Germany  wanted  to  get  Le  Journal  to  uphold 
German  economic  interests  after  the  war. 

"With  Lenoir  in  his  travels  to  Switzerland  was  a  Mme. 
d'Arlix,  who  knew  considerable  about  these  treasonable  trans- 
actions, and  who  became  very  ill.  Lt.  Mornet,  at  Lenoir's 
trial,  openly  accused  Lenoir  and  his  mother  of  being  more 
than  delighted  to  learn  that  Mme.  d'Arlix  was  about  to  die 
and  therefore,  could  not  tell  her  story.  Let  me  give  you 
Lt.  Mornet's  very  words : 

"  'The  correspondence  of  Mme.  Lenoir  and  her  son  paints 
the  picture  still  blacker.  It  shows  they  were  overjoyed  to 
know  of  the  approaching  death  of  this  wretched  woman.' 

"In  this  same  correspondence  there  was  also  mention  of  a 
mysterious  character,  designated  as  the  'Red  Man'.  He  was 
a  Swiss,  named  Hurlimann,  who  carried  money  into  France 
for  Lenoir.  There  was  also  plenty  of  proof  that  Lenoir  had 
close  relations  with  Erb,  a  pro  German  Swiss  and  a  friend  of 
Erzberger  and  Behrenbach,  a  German  peace  propagandist. 

"The  trial  one  day  produced  three  famous  women  of  the 
demi-monde,  Mme.  Thouvenin,  once  a  mistress  of  Lenoir; 
Mme.  Beauregard,  a  mistress  of  Prince  Hohenlohe,  and  Mme. 
Max  Raymond,  another  of  the  same  type.  Mme.  Thouvenin 
said  that  Lenoir  once  told  her  he  had  a  big  business  affair  at 
Berne.  Mme.  Beauregard  testified  that  Desouches  asked  to 
be  presented  to  Prince  Hohenlohe,  and  showed  her  a  letter 
proposing  the  formation  of  an  anti  British  newspaper.  Mme. 
Raymond,  who  met  Lenoir  through  Desouches,  said  that 
Desouches  talked  of  acquiring  the  Temps,  Figaro  and  other 
Paris  newspapers  sometime  in  1916." 

"Why  did  Desouches  get  only  five  years,  if  he  was  mixed 
up  with  such  a  crowd  of  blighters?"  asked  the  Englishman. 

"Desouches  is  over  60  years  old,  and  during  the  war  he 
served  at  the  front,"  said  the  Frenchman.  "They  let  him 
off  >easy  for  these  reasons,  but  only  these." 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  269 

Here  the  French  Colonel  pulled  another  package  of  papers 
out  of  his  portfolio  and  untied  a  bright  red  cord. 

"The  roots  of  German  corruption  reach  so  deep  beneath 
the  soil  of  France,  that  even  now  we  are  continually  digging 
them  up,"  he  remarked,  as  he  opened  one  yellow  envelope. 

"Within  the  last  few  weeks,  for  example,  evidence  has  been 
unearthed  which  shows  that  Berlin  was  negotiating  for  the 
purchase  of  the  Paris  newspaper,  I'Eclair,  long  before  the 
activities  of  Bolo  or  Duval. 

"A  letter  was  found,  dated  in  December,  1914,  the  fifth 
month  of  the  war,  which  purports  to  be  a  copy  of  a  com- 
munication from  Gottlieb  von  Jagow,  then  German  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  to  Baron  von  der  Lancken,  at  that  time 
Civil  Governor  of  Brussels.  The  letter  said  that  Germany 
could  employ  Ernest  Judet,  editor  of  VEclair,  for  2,000,000 
francs ;  but  that  von  Jagow  thought  the  sum  too  great  and 
asked  von  der  Lancken  for  advice.  Following  the  arrest  of 
Bolo  and  Lenoir  in  1917  Judet  sold  P  Eclair  and  went  to 
Switzerland.  Since  then  he  has  continued  to  live  beyond  the 
Alpine  frontier. 

"Accordingly,  if  we  were  not  able  to  uncover  this  VEclair 
affair  for  five  long  years,  we  must  still  have  many  more  plot- 
ters and  traitors  in  our  midst  still  undetected,  still  working 
evil." 

"What  you  said  about  the  new  German  offensive  to  con- 
found the  Allies  by  inciting  internal  insurrections  interested 
me  tremendously,"  said  the  Englishman  drawing  his  chair 
closer.  "In  Ireland,  in  India,  in  Egypt,  in  all  the  other 
parts  of  the  British  Empire,  where  it  is  possible  to  arouse 
old  racial  antagonisms  and  hatreds,  the  Germans  are  now 
engaged  in  the  most  insidious  propaganda." 

"In  the  United  States,"  remarked  the  French  officer,  as  if 
to  fortify  still  further  the  Englishman's  statement,  "Germany 
has  long  been  fostering  an  Irish  movement  aimed,  of  course, 
at  England.  To  prove  my  assertion,  let  me  quote  from  a 


270  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

letter,  which  Count  von  Bernstorff,  while  still  German  Am- 
bassador to  the  United  States,  addressed  to  the  Imperial 
Chancellor,  Herr  von  Bethmann  Hollweg.  It  was  dated  Rye, 
N.  H.,  U.  S.  A.,  August  26,  1916,  and  reads  : 

"  'I  have  already  notified  Your  Excellency  that  the  War 
Intelligence  Centre,  New  York,  has,  by  the  direction  of  the 
Deputy  General  Staff,  been  immediately  dissolved.  There- 
upon doubts  arose  as  to  whether  the  Bureau  of  the  Military 
Attache  should  continue  to  be  carried  on  by  Herr  von  Igle 
and  Herr  von  Skal,  as  arranged  by  Herr  von  Papen  on  his 
departure.' 

"I  might  add  here,"  said  the  French  officer,  "that  von 
Papen  had  been  caught  in  various  plots  to  blow  up  munition 
factories  and  issue  forged  passports,  and  the  United  States 
had  demanded  his  recall.  Herr  von  Skal  was  formerly  city 
editor  of  the  Staats  Zeitung,  the  leading  German  newspaper 
of  New  York  City.  Herr  von  Igel  was  mixed  up  in  the  con- 
spiracy to  blow  up  the  Welland  Canal. 

"  'As  you  are  aware,'  wrote  von  Bernstorff,*  the  lawsuit  is 
still  pending  against  Herr  von  Igle  on  account  of  his  parti- 
cipation in  the  expedition  against  the  Welland  Canal. 

"  'Herr  von  Igel  and  Herr  von  Skal,  apart  from  the  service 
of  the  War  Intelligence  Centre,  have  carried  on  the  various 
commercial  schemes  introduced  and  already  partly  concluded 
by  Herr  von  Papen.  These  have  to  do,  among  other  things, 
with  the  orders  placed  by  the  Bridgeport  Projectile  Com- 
pany, the  Aetna  Powder  Company,  the  purchase  of  chlorine 
and  earthenware,  and  the  sales  of  arms,  stored  to  our  account 
in  New  York  and  the  State  of  Washington,  for  use  in  India. 

"  'The  connection,  moreover,  in  New  York  with  the  India- 
Irish  revolutionaries  has  been  maintained,  since  the  departure 
of  Herr  von  Papen,  either  by  Herr  von  Igle  or  Herr  von 
Skal.  Herr  von  Skal  keeps  in  touch  with  the  Irish,  for  which, 
owing  to  his  wide  acquaintance  in  these  circles,  he  is  peculiar- 
ly fitted,  and  he  also,  as  before,  enjoys  their  confidence.' ' 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  271 

"May  I  ask  how  this  most  interesting  letter  came  into  your 
hands?'  asked  the  American  eagerly.  "What  a  small  world 
this  is!  I  have  the  affidavit  of  a  man,  who  saw  von  Skal  at 
von  Papen's  offices,  No.  60  Wall  st.,  New  York,  before  the 
United  States  entered  the  war  The  interview  was  to  learn 
what  action  Germany  would  take  to  combat  British  control 
of  the  export  of  rubber  and  other  war  essentials,  which  the 
Germans  wanted  to  get  by  way  of  Holland  and  Scandinavia. 
The  subject  turned  to  the  British  secret  service,  and  von 
Skal  said: 

"  'You  should  see  John  Devoy,  editor  of  the  Gaelic  Ameri- 
can, No.  165  William  st.  Devoy  knows  more  about  British 
spies  than  anyone  I  can  think  of.  Tell  him  that  I  sent  you.' 

"My  informant  saw  Devoy,  and  said  he  came  from  von 
Papen's  office.  Devoy  replied  that  he  had  a  great  deal  of 
material  about  British  secret  agents,  and  he  would  try  to 
put  it  together.  The  visitor  called  at  a  later  date,  but  never 
obtained  any  definite  information.  Devoy  produced  only  news- 
paper clippings.  Accordingly,  the  letter  from  von  Bern- 
storff,  which  you  just  read,  interests  me  tremendously.  Can 
you  tell  me  how  you  got  it?" 

"Certainly,"  replied  the  Frenchman.  "A  copy  was  found 
among  the  papers  of  Captain  von  Papen,  captured  at  Naz- 
areth. After  von  Papen  was  forced  to  give  up  the  post  of 
Military  Attache  under  von  Bernstorff,  he  returned  to  Ger- 
many and  was  assigned  to  the  Near  East.  I  guess  our 
English  friend,  here,  knows  all  about  this  letter  and  many 
more  which  were  taken  from  the  Germans  in  Palestine." 

"In  the  United  States,"  said  the  Britisher  nodding,  "a  num- 
ber of  societies  have  been  formed  to  free  India  and  Egypt  as 
well  as  Ireland  from  the  'English  yoke,'  as  they  put  it.  I  am 
sure  it  would  be  exceedingly  interesting,  if  some  of  those 
agitators  were  forced  to  explain  how  they  are  being  financed." 

"Pardon  me,"  interrupted  the  Frenchman,  "but  I  have 
here  an  article  from  the  Hamburger  Fremdenblatt,  which 


272  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

shows  how  Germany,  through  socialistic  agents  throughout 
the  rest  of  the  world,  intends  to  wage  a  new  warfare  for  the 
ultimate  triumph  of  German  Kultur.  This  German  news- 
paper puts  the  doctrine  in  the  mouth  of  a  Japanese,  adding 
that  it  is  of  'special  interest  because  of  its  correspondence 
with  the  programme  of  Count  Brockdorff-Rantzau'.  The 
article  reads: 

"  'This  convenient  Japanese  declares  that  the  real  cause 
of  the  war  was  the  incomparable  energy  of  a  single  Power, 
shut  up  in  a  grey  corner  of  Europe  and  striving  towards  the 
sun.  German  militarism  was  a  protest  against  English  capit- 
alism, whose  effort  to  throttle  the  world  it  opposed.  Militar- 
ism failed,  but  the  new  Germany  must  resume  the  old  war 
with  new  weapons. 

"  'These  are  to  be  found  in  democracy,  the  deadly  enemy 
of  capitalism.  Germany  is  the  country  of  work.  England 
and  America  are  the  countries  where  capitalism  makes  other 
people  work.  A  Japanese  coming  from  England  or  America 
to  Germany  at  once  feels  that  he  has  come  home  from  foreign 
lands.  The  world  is  not  yet  ripe  for  international  socialism, 
and  Germany  is  the  leader  of  national  socialism. 

"  'She  will  speedily  convert  Russia  to  the  same  idea,  and 
then  the  Balkan  States,  Egypt,  India,  Mexico,  and  the  South 
American  States  will  join  the  union  of  nationalist  socialism, 
led  by  Germany,  to  destroy  Anglo-Saxon  capitalism.  Japan 
must  cease  to  follow  England  and  adopt  the  German  ideal. 
As  a  first  testimony  of  her  good  faith  she  will  return  Tsing- 
tau  to  China.  Then,  presumably  with  the  help  of  Germany, 
Japan  will  assist  China  to  throw  out  English  capitalism.' 

"There  you  are,"  said  the  Britisher.  "The  old  Germany, 
the  imperialistic  Germany,  is  still  unconquered.  The  men 
who  were  most  active  in  the  old  propaganda  plots  and  who 
proved  that  propaganda  is  often  more  powerful  than  cannon 
are  still  at  the  head  of  German  affairs.  Count  von  Bern- 
storff,  for  example,  who  did  so  much  to  poison  the  minds  of 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  273 

Americans  through  various  newspapers  which  were  his  dupes, 
or  which  through  sales  of  bonds  and  other  secret  subsidies 
prostituted  themselves  completely  to  German  gold,  is  still 
powerful  in  the  councils  of  the  new  Germany." 

"Germany  today  is  spending  more  money  for  propaganda 
to  defeat  the  peace  treaty,  to  break  up  the  League  of  Nations, 
to  'embarass  the  Allies  in  every  conceivable  way,  than  ever  be- 
fore," interposed  the  French  officer.  "One  of  the  first  acts 
of  the  Weimer  National  Assembly  after  the  armistice  was  to 
plan  a  world  wide  propaganda  campaign.  On  March  29  it 
voted  an  unlimited  appropriation  for  the  further  extension 
of  a  commercial  news  service  abroad.  This  money  is  now 
being  used  to  aid  the  Sinn  Feiners  and  the  Egyptian  and 
Indian  nationalists.  Proof  has  been  obtained  by  represen- 
tatives of  the  Allied  governments  in  Switzerland.  Indeed, 
the  same  agencies  that  Germany  used  in  Switzerland  during 
the  war  to  spread  the  pestilence  of  defeatism  throughout 
France  and  Italy  are  now  seeking  to  infect  the  French,  the 
Italians,  the  British  and  the  Americans  with  these  new  plag- 
ues. 

"Only  a  glance  at  some  of  the  Swiss  papers  shows  how 
boldly  these  propagandists  are  operating.  For  example,  here 
is  an  article  from  the  German  Swiss  Neue  Zurcher  Zeitung  of 
May  27,  on  'The  Situation  in  Ireland'.  It  says  that  Ireland 
must  break  away  from  the  bondage  of  England  and  become 
a  republic.  The  article  is  signed,  the  'Komitee  der  Freunde 
fiir  Irische  Freiheit.'  (The  Committee  of  the  Friends  of 
Irish  Freedom). 

"At  Berne  there  has  been  established  an  Oriental  League. 
In  it  have  been  combined  all  the  secret  Moslem  and  Hindu 
nationalistic  organizations,  which  hitherto  have  been  work- 
ing separately  to  break  up  the  British  Empire.  Among  them 
is  the  'Pro  India'  group,  of  which  a  number  of  leaders  were 
recently  sentenced  in  Zurich  for  importing  bombs  into  Swit- 
zerland under  the  direction  of  the  German  General  staff. 


274  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"The  purpose  of  the  new  organization  is  to  promote  a 
world  wide  revolution  of  Mohammedanism  against  England 
and  France,  as  soon  as  the  peace  treaty  has  been  ratified  by 
the  various  Allied  countries. 

"The  master  mind  behind  the  Oriental  League  is  Baron 
von  Wesendonck,  at  one  time  Director  of  the  Oriental  De- 
partment of  the  Berlin  Foreign  Office.  Assisting  him  are 
three  Young  Turks,  Enver,  Talaat  and  Djemal.  Branches 
have  been  founded  in  India,  Afghanistan,  Turkestan,  Persia, 
Turco-Tartary,  Egypt,  Algeria  and  Morrocco." 

"You  spoke  of  the  instigation  of  labor  troubles  in  Allied 
countries  by  German  propaganda,"  said  the  American. 
"Have  you  proof  that  the  epidemic  of  strikes  and  lockouts 
in  the  United  States  has  been  incited  by  German  agents?" 

"I  can  only  speak  of  France,"  replied  the  Frenchman, 
"and  here  there  is  proof  aplenty.  The  same  French  labor 
leaders  who  tried  to  cripple  French  munition  factories  and 
other  war  manufactories  before  the  armistice  are  now  spread- 
ing the  flames  of  socialism  and  Bolshevism  throughout  all 
our  working  classes." 

"How  far  did  these  labor  agitators  succeed  in  working 
for  the  defeat  of  France?"  asked  the  Britisher. 

"In  the  Department  of  the  Loire  and  neighboring  indus- 
trial regions  the  trade  unionists  voted  a  general  strike  and  a 
revolution,  unless  France  signed  an  immediate  armistice.  That 
was  on  May  23  1918,  four  days  before  the  third  great  Ger- 
man drive,  which  smashed  through  the  allied  front  for 
thirty  miles  between  Soissons  and  Rheims.  It  was  the  most 
critical  time  of  the  whole  war. 

"Forty-one  Syndicalists,  nearly  all  belonging  to  the  Loire, 
were  finally  brought  to  trial  before  the  court  martial  at 
Clermont-Ferrand.  Chief  of  the  accused  was  Andrieux, 
secretary  of  the  Metal  Union  of  Firminy.  First  arrested  in 
December,  1917,  he  was  released.  Thereupon,  he  joined 
hands  with  M.  Fageollet,  secretary  of  the  Union  of  the  Trade 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  275 

Unions  of  the  Loire,  and  M.  Pericat,  secretary  of  the  Trade 
Union  Committee  of  Defense  in  Paris,  in  a  most  vigorous 
pacifist  movement." 

"But  that  was  during  the  war,"  said  the  American.  "Who 
is  making  trouble  now?  Who  is  responsible  for  your  present 
labor  outbreaks?" 

"Such  socialists  as  Jean  Longuet,  grandson  of  Karl  Marx, 
the  founder  of  German  socialism,  of  whom  you,  yourself, 
spoke  a  little  while  ago,"  replied  the  French  officer.  "Lon- 
guet, Deputy  of  the  Seine,  and  M.  Frossard,  Secretary  Gen- 
eral of  the  Socialist  Party,  work  together.  Only  the  other 
day  these  two  men  were  arrested  at  Folkestone,  England,  by 
the  British  police.  They  were  on  their  way  to  the  annual 
conference  of  the  British  Labor  Party  at  Southport.  The 
British  authorities,  as  Mr.  Short  declared  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  had  obtained  proofs  of  a  Bolshevik  movement  in 
England.  Let  me  read  you  what  the  Echo  de  Paris  said 
about  it",  and  picking  up  a  newspaper  from  the  table,  he 
read : 

"  'Longuet  and  Frossard  have  been  treated  not  as  defenders 
of  the  proletariat  but  of  the  German  revolution  and  peace, 
not  as  labor  delegates  but  as  international  agitators. 

"  'For  days  and  weeks  at  their  meetings  and  in  their  news- 
papers these  men  have  pleaded  the  German  cause.  Con- 
tinually they  cry  for  peace  terms  most  favorable  to  the  Huns.' 

"In  the  Action  Francaise  of  yesterday,  Leon  Daudet  re- 
produced passages  of  a  letter  in  which  the  German  naval  at- 
tache at  Madrid  said  he  could  'approach  at  all  times'  the 
French  socialists  through  Longuet.  The  attache  was  quoted 
as  asking  if  he  should  continue  the  propaganda  and  keep  in 
touch  with  the  French  socialists  to  obtain  for  Germany  ac- 
ceptable conditions  of  peace.  Daudet  also  wrote: 

"  'Longuet  with  his  friends  Cachin  and  Brizon  was  plot- 
ting a  new  campaign  of  economic  and  political  strikes  which 


276  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

would  lead  to  a  general  Bolshevik  strike.  It  was  to  take  ef- 
fect upon  the  promulgation  of  the  treaty.' 

"Two  documents  are  in  the  possession  of  the  French  milit- 
ary authorities,"  continued  the  French  Colonel,  "which  re- 
veal still  further  how  bold  the  new  German  propagandists 
have  become.  The  first  document  showed  that  on  November 
21,  1918,  ten  days  after  the  armistice,  the  German  military 
attache  at  Madrid  proposed  to  Berlin  a  plan  of  Bolshevik 
revolution  in  France.  'If  impossible  to  start  an  insurrection 
all  over  France,'  he  added,  'try  only  a  section  of  the  country. 
This  will  be  enough  to  frighten  the  Clemenceau  government 
and  force  it  to  recognize  the  wishes  of  the  socialists  con- 
cerning the  conditions  of  peace.' 

"The  second  document  was  seized  in  Poland.  It  was  an 
official  German  diplomatic  paper,  number  1912,  in  which  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  urged  the  Minister  of  War  to 
recruit  Germans  who  were  able  to  speak  French  and  English, 
for  a  special  course  of  instruction  at  the  German  War  Min- 
istry. There  they  should  receive  all  the  training  and  in- 
struction necessary  for  Bolshevik  propaganda  in  France  and 
England.  It  was  signed,  'Reusche,  Capt.  Stopp.' ' 

"The  war  is  by  no  means  over,"  remarked  the  Britisher. 

"Exactly  what  Clemenceau  said,"  returned  the  Frenchman. 
"Let  me  read  you  what  he  stated  recently  on  this  very 
subject: 

"  'There  is  only  a  lull  in  the  storm.  Recent  disclosures 
have  enabled  us  to  look  deeper  into  the  purposes  of  the  enemy 
than  heretofore.  It  was  not  purely  a  dream  of  military  do- 
mination on  the  part  of  Prussia.  It  was  a  definitely  cal- 
culated conspiracy  to  exterminate  France  industrially  and 
commercially,  as  well  as  in  the  field  of  battle.  In  that  effort 
the  German  bankers  and  manufacturers  joined  the  General 
Staff. 

"  'The  exposures  of  Dr.  Muehlon,  of  the  Krupp  Works, 
and  of  Kurt  Eisner  at  the  Berne  Socialist  Conference  make 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  277 

this  clear.  And  this  fact  also  explains  many  of  the  activities 
of  the  German  armies,  which  at  first  we  could  not  understand. 
We  now  see  why  they  stole  the  machinery  from  our  factories, 
why  they  destroyed  the  coal  mines  of  Lens,  why  they  wrought 
such  wanton  devastation  on  French  territory,  even  in  retreat. 
It  was  then  thought  to  be  the  tactics  of  military  frightful- 
ness.  Instead,  it  was  part  of  a  deliberate  plan  of  commercial 
imperialism. 

"  *And  in  this  phase  of  the  war  Germany  has  not  been  un- 
successful. The  industrial  life  of  France  has  been  so  wreck- 
ed that  its  resusitation  is  most  difficult,  while  by  reason  of 
her  military  surrender,  Germany  has  saved  her  factories  in- 
tact and  ready  for  immediate  and  efficient  operation.  In- 
dustrially and  commercially  Germany  conquered  France.  For 
the  present  the  victory  is  with  the  Hun.' ' 

"But  the  military  power  of  Germany  has  been  crushed," 
said  the  American,  as  if  asking  a  question. 

"Clemenceau  does  not  think  so,"  replied  the  French  officer. 
"He  says,  'There  are  features  of  the  military  triumph  over 
Germany,  which  are  most  disquieting  for  France.  With  the 
British  army  demobilized,  the  American  army  home,  there 
might  be  a  reopening  of  the  military  debate  by  Germany, 
which  would  embarass  us,  were  it  not  for  the  assurance  of 
President  Wilson.'  " 

"Well,  under  the  Franco- American  treaty,  which  President 
Wilson  is  taking  back  to  Washington,  the  United  States  is 
bound  to  assist  France  in  case  of  any  unprovoked  act  of 
aggression  directed  against  her  by  Germany,"  replied  the 
American.  "For  that  reason,  the  United  States  has  become 
peculiarly  interested  in  the  internal  affairs  of  France.  If 
the  French  socialists  succeed  in  dividing  France  against  her- 
self and  Germany  takes  advantage  of  such  a  situation  to  re- 
build her  military  machine,  the  United  States  in  order  to 
comply  with  the  Franco-American  treaty  must  maintain  or 
keep  in  reserve  a  large,  well  trained  army." 


278  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

"If  the  League  of  Nations  had  the  full  and  undivided  sup- 
port of  the  United  States  and  the  other  Allies,  the  league  it- 
self could  keep  Germany  in  check  and  relieve  both  England 
and  the  United  States  of  maintaining  large  armaments  for  the 
peace  of  the  world",  said  the  Britisher.  "If  the  League  of 
Nations  is  destroyed,  as  Germany  and  her  friends  desire,  the 
responsibility  of  preventing  the  next  war  will  fall  largely 
upon  the  English  and  French  speaking  peoples.  Therefore, 
I  cannot  understand  why  some  American  Senators  would  tear 
the  treaty  to  pieces,  why  they  would  smash  the  League  of 
Nations  and  alienate  all  the  rest  of  the  Allies. 

"England  has  made  a  treaty  with  France,  almost  identical 
with  the  Franco-American  treaty.  We  too  stand  ready  to 
aid  France,  should  she  ever  again  be  in  danger.  Some  of 
your  Senators  say  we  are  compelled  to  protect  France,  be- 
cause she  is  so  near  us  and  in  protecting  France  we  are  pro- 
tecting England.  Does  distance  make  any  difference  in  this 
age  of  aeroplanes  and  submarines?  Were  not  German  U 
boats  sinking  American  ships  off  the  American  coast? 

"Tell  me,  therefore,  why  do  these  American  Senators  cry 
out  against  the  Paris  plan  of  a  union  of  all  nations  desirous 
of  a  world  peace, —  a  plan  which  can  be  bettered  by  ex- 
perience,— but  which  should  be  put  into  effect  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble, or  the  ever  fermenting  forces  of  social  unrest  may  en- 
gulf us  in  a  worse  struggle  than  the  one  through  which  we 
have  just  passed?     Do  these  Republican  Senators  know  they 
are  playing  into  the  hands  of  the  Huns  and  the  Bolsheviks?" 
"They  believe  in  America  first,"  replied  the  American. 
"But  is  that  not  a  very  selfish  attitude?"  asked  the  Brit- 
isher.    "Did  it  not  originate  in  Berlin?     Does  the  United 
States  want  to  have  all  other  nations  believe  that  she  was  will- 
ing to  play  the  game  until  she  saw  the  first  chance  to  quit?  Or 
phrase  it  another  way.     Does  the  United  States  which  lives 
in  a  wooden  house  like  all  the  other  nations,  very  inflammable, 
as  the  last  war  has  taught  us,  very  close  to  the  other  wooden 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  279 

houses  of  France,  England  and  the  rest  of  Europe,  wish  to 
say  to  her  neighbors? 

"  'My  house  first.  I  helped  fight  the  fire  as  long  as  I  was 
in  immediate  danger.  There  are  several  houses  still  on  fire. 
Russia,  Siberia,  Poland,  Hungary,  the  Balkans,  Asia  Minor 
are  still  burning.  The  flames  may  spread,  but  that  is  none  of 
my  business.  Only  my  own  house  interests  me.'  " 

"  'America  first'  has  been  cried  so  loudly  by  certain  polit- 
icians and  demogogue  newspapers  that  Europe  does  not  hear 
the  voice  of  the  American  people,"  replied  the  American 
Colonel.  "The  United  States  has  already  proved  its  utter 
unselfishness  by  throwing  all  its  power  of  money  and  men 
into  the  conflict.  It  asked  nothing  for  this  supreme  sacrifice. 
It  made  no  secret  treaties,  as  some  of  the  other  Allies  did, 
to  get  this  seaport,  that  group  of  islands,  this  protectorate 
or  that  sphere  of  influence.  No.  It  went  to  Europe,  as  the 
crusaders  went  to  Palestine,  for  a  great  and  good  purpose, — 
the  destruction  of  autocracy, — and  if  France  is  ever  again  in 
clanger  as  she  was  in  1914,  the  United  States  again  will 
plunge  into  the  fight  just  as  unselfishly,  just  as  whole  heart- 
edly,  as  before.  Whether  or  not  the  'America  first'  Senators 
kill  the  Franco-American  treaty,  the  people  of  the  United 
States  will  live  up  to  every  letter  of  it.  The  ancient  friend- 
ship between  France  and  America  was  never  stronger  or  on  a 
surer  foundation,  than  now." 

"Bravo,"  cried  the  Frenchman  leaping  from  his  chair,  and 
fairly  embracing  his  guest.  The  Britisher  also  rose  to  his 
feet.  "Here,  here,"  he  exclaimed.  "Let  us  all  join  hands, 
for  if  our  three  nations  will  only  stick  together,  we  shall  in- 
deed have  made  the  world  safe  for  democracy." 

"And  let  it  be  real  democracy,"  added  the  American. 

As  the  three  Colonels  again  gripped  hands,  the  clock 
struck  midnight. 

"What,"  exclaimed  the  English  officer,  "Can  it  be  twelve 
o'clock?  Our  talk  has  been  so  engrossing,  that  I  almost  for- 


280  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

got  an  appointment  with  some  members  of  my  staff  at  the 
Hotel  Majestic.  I  must  be  going." 

"But  to  meet  again,"  interjected  the  American.  "When 
and  where  shall  it  be?  I  want  to  learn  more  of  the  new  plots 
of  the  'Enemy  Within',  an  'enemy  which  is  again  at  work  in 
our  very  midst,  combatting  us  in  every  conceivable  form." 

"Well,"  said  the  English  Colonel.  "I  am  going  back  to 
London,  Monday.  Can  we  not  meet  again  tomorrow?  In  the 
morning  I  want  to  attend  service  at  Notre  Dame.  I  am  not 
a  churchman,  but  I  always  find  an  inspiration  in  the  sublime 
cathedral." 

"Let  us  meet  you  there,"  replied  the  American.  "Just  the 
thing.  I  too  have  been  wanting  to  see  Notre  Dame  again." 

And  so  it  was  agreed  that  all  three  should  meet  at  the 
Porte  de  la  Vierge,  (the  Door  of  the  Virgin),  the  most  north- 
ern of  the  three  great  entrances  of  the  cathederal,  at  ten 
o'clock. 

The  American  Colonel  arrived  at  the  appointed  place  a 
little  before  the  time.  He  stood  beneath  the  sculptured  arch- 
way and  watched  the  black  line  of  women  entering.  Although 
upon  the  battle  field  he  had  gone  into  the  jaws  of  death, 
although  he  had  fought  over  heaps  of  dead  and  dying  men, 
yet  never  before  had  he  realized  so  profoundly  the  ghastliness 
of  war.  Everyone  who  passed  him  walked  beneath  the  shad- 
ow of  the  grave. 

Nevertheless,  in  the  faces  of  these  mourners,  he  saw  a  calm 
faith,  an  undying  hopefulness,  which  filled  him  with  wonder. 
With  mute  lips  the  women  seemed  to  say : 

"They  have  killed  our  fathers. 

"They  have  killed  our  brothers. 

"They  have  killed  our  husbands. 

"They  have  killed  our  sons. 

"But  France,  they  cannot  kill." 

As  one  woman  approached  him,  a  white  paper  fluttered  to 
his  feet.  He  was  too  absorbed  to  notice  it,  until  she  had  en- 


THE  ENEMY  WITHIN  281 

tered  the  door  and  was  lost  in  the  great  shadowy  depths  far 
beyond. 

It  was  a  letter ;  and  before  he  realized  what  he  was  doing, 
he  read: 

"Dearest  Marie:  The  wound  was  too  deep.  I  can  only 
tell  you  I  am  happy  in  knowing  I  could  fight  for  France.  I 
love  you  and  the  baby  with  all  my  soul.  God  will  care  for 
you  both. 

Your  Jean." 

The  letter  was  dated  September  20,  1914,  the  eighth  week 
of  the  war.  The  American  was  just  about  to  renew  his 
search,  when  a  figure  in  heavy  crepe,  leading  a  little  child, 
hurried  out  of  the  "Door  of  the  Virgin,"  and  gazed  around  in 
a  frightened,  bewildered  way  at  the  long  black  line,  that  was 
still  entering.  He  knew  in  an  instant  that  it  was  the  "Marie" 
of  the  letter.  He  ran  to  her  side  and  held  out  the  little  piece 
of  paper. 

"Oh,  how  I  thank  you,  Monsieur,"  the  woman  cried,  and 
kissing  the  crumpled  letter,  she  thrust  it  back  into  her  bosom. 


END 


APPENDIX 

Page  7 

"Fifteen  million  francs'*..  Before  the  war,  about  $3,000,000.  On  July 
1,  1914-,  the  franc  was  worth  19  cents.  The  exchange  rate  was  6.15 
francs  to  the  dollar.  On  September  8,  1919,  the  franc  was  worth  only 
12  cents,  American  money,  the  exchange  rate  being  8.32  francs  to  a 
dollar. 

Page  19 

"What  they  feaired  was  the  publication  of  the  report  by  Victor  Fabre 
on  the  Rochette  swindle  and  the  full  exposure  of  Caillaux's  alliance 
with  Germany." 

Gaston  Calmette  obtained  possession  of  copies  of  telegrams  between 
Baron  Schoen,  German  Ambassador  at  Paris,  and  Bethmann-Hollweg, 
Chancellor  of  Germany,  discussing  Caillaux's  efforts  to  surrender  France 
to  German  interests  by  means  of  secret  negociations  during  the  Agadir 
embroglio  in  1911,  when  Caillaux  was  Premier.  These  dispatches  show 
that  Caillaux  was  willing  to  cede  vast  African  possessions  to  Germany, 
but  feared  the  wrath  of  French  public  opinion.  They  also  show  that 
every  effort  was  made  to  keep  Caillaux's  machinations  away  from  the 
knowledge  of  Jules  Cambon,  then  French  Ambassador  at  Berlin, 

When  Caillaux  learned  that  Calmette  in  1914  was  preparing  to  pub- 
lish these  telegrams,  he  persuaded  Premier  Doumergue  to  ask  Calmette 
to  desist.  Calmette  was  told  that  their  publication  would  endanger  the 
safety  of  France.  Calmette  replied,  that  if  it  was  a  question  of  patriot- 
ism, he  would  not  make  the  information  public. 

During  the  trial  of  Mme.  Caillaux  for  the  murder  of  Calmette,  M. 
Herbaux,  the  Prosecutor  General,  who  was  a  friend  of  Caillaux  and 
who  had  been  appointed  to  succeed  another  prosecutor  hostile  to  the 
husband  of  the  murderess,  sought  to  suppress  this  phase  of  the  affair. 
He  said  he  was  authorized  to  deny  the  existence  of  the  Schoen  Beth- 
mann-Hollweg telegrams. 

This  all  important  correspondence,  however,  has  at  last  come  to  light. 
The  copies  which  Calmette  possessed  were  turned  over  by  his  estate  to 
President  Poincare.  They  were  placed  in  the  Caillaux  dossier,  which 
was  produced  before  the  Commission  of  Inquiry  of  the  High  Court, 
which  is  to  try  Caillaux.  Because  these  copies  are  of  green  paper,  they 
have  come  to  be  called  Les  Documents  Verts,  (The  Green  Documents). 
The  three  most  important  telegrams  among  these  papers,  which  it  is 
now  possible  to  reproduce,  read  as  follows: 
(Document  No.  1) 

"No.  210.    Secret. 

"Paris,  July  26,  1911,  15th  hour. 
"Foreign  Affairs,  Berlin. 

"Fondere,   who   yesterday   and   today   had   long   conversations   wltfc 

283 


284  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

Caillaux,  says  that  Caillaux  stated  the  cession  of  the  whole  coast  of  the 
Congo  was  altogether  impossible.  Public  opinion  would  interpret  it  as 
an  abasement  of  France,  and  as  for  Caillaux,  himself,  it  would  mean 
political  suicide. 

"Caillaux  pretends  to  despair  of  the  possibility  of  coming  to  an  agree- 
ment with  us,  and  adds  that  he  is  beginning  to  see  the  future  grow 
dark.  In  the  discussion  between  Fondere  and  Caillaux  relative  to  com- 
pensations, the  President  of  the  Council  (Caillaux)  called  attention  to 
the  resistance  which  England  might  offer  to  important  territorial  con- 
cessions made  to  us  (Germany). 

"But  at  the  same  time  he  expressed  the  opinion  that  France  vould 
cede  to  us,  even  against  the  wish  of  Great  Britain,  the  territory  ot  the 
French  Congo  east  of  the  Kameroon  with  the  Sangha  as  a  new  frontier 
on  the  south  as  far  as  the  Congo  River.  Besides,  Caillaux  has  also  ex- 
pressed the  opinion. ..  .that  France  through  a  secret  treaty  could  cede 
to  us  her  right  of  preemption  to  the  Belgian  Congo.  As  for  Togo, 
France  thinks  it  is  out  of  the  question,  because  the  Secretary  of  State 
for  Foreign  Affairs  has  declared  to  Cambon  that  our  Bureau  of  Col- 
onies could  not  consent  to  the  relinquishment  of  that  colony. 

"In  order  to  make  this  agreement  look  as  much  as  possible  like  a 
colonial  barter  instead  of  a  concession  wrested  by  Germany  at  Agadir, 
Caillaux  wished  to  have  from  Germany  as  a  counterpart  for  France 
the  most  northern  extremity  of  the  Kameroon  on  the  River  Tchad  and 
another  very  small  territory  north  of  the  Togo. 

"Thus,  at  a  later  favorable  moment,  we  could  perhaps,  in  the  opinion 
of  Cailla.ux,  exchange  the  coast  of  the  French  Congo  for  the  Togo. 
The  reply  has  been  made  to  M.  Fondere  that  no  agreement  on  such  a 
basis  could  be  discussed.  Fondere  thinks  that  Caillaux  will  perhaps 
compromise  finally  in  the  following  manner. 

"Cession  of  the  south  coast  of  Spanish  Guinea  with  the  port  of  Muni, 
which  has  great  future  possibilities,  as  far  as  a  little  to  the  north  of 
Libreville.  Such  an  arrangement  England  would  oppose  with  all  her 
might.  The  southern  frontier  in  this  case  would  reach  as  far  as  Ogooue 
toward  the  south  east,  which  is  nearly  as  far  as  Franceville.  Thence 
it  would  run  along  the  Alima  River. 

"Fondere  may  see  Caillaux  at  any  moment.  Caillaux  appreciates  him 
as  a  colonial  expert.  He  is  placing  himself  at  our  disposal.  In  pre- 
tending that  the  cession  of  the  entire  coast  of  the  Congo  would  greatly 
irritate  French  public  opinion,  which  has  already  been  apparently  ex- 
cited against  us  on  several  occasions  by  England,  Caillaux,  in  my 
opinion,  is  sincere." 

The  document  is  signed,  "Schoen,"  German  Ambassador  at  Paris. 
(Document  No.  2) 

Paris,  July  27,  1911. 

No.  224 

Secret.     Foreign  Affairs,  Berlin. 

"Caillaux  has  instructed  Fondere  to  advise  our  Embassy  that  he  is 
animated  with  a  sincere  desire  to  have  an  understanding  with  us,  and 
thzrt  he  would  prefer  to  bring  about  an  entente  on  a  big  scale,  settling 
all  the  difficulties  which  have  arisen  between  us  in  recent  years.  This 
would  help  him  justify  himself  before  the  public  in  making  this  cession 


APPENDIX  285 

of  colonial  territory.     Thus  he  can  show  the  eminent  advantage  of 
smoothing  out  all  old  time  points  of  dispute. 

"The  broader  the  entente  will  be,  the  more  objects  of  different  kinds 
it  will  embrace,  and  the  more  France  will  show  herself  willing  to  accede 
to  colonial  concessions;  while  on  the  other  hand  a  barter  limited  to 
Morocco  and  the  Congo  would  cause  here  a  sense  of  humiliation  and 
could  hardly  be  carried  out  in  a  form  satisfactory  to  us. 

"Caillaux  asks  that  we,  Germans,  ask  ourselves  just  whatwe  want  in 
settling  every  point  of  dispute.  He  consents  to — although  these  are 
trivial  concessions — a  German  president  for  the  Ottoman  debt,  a  thirty 
per  cent,  retrocession  for  the  Bagdad  railroad,  and  an  arrangement  cov- 
ering the  railroads  of  the  Orient. 

"He  has  also  considered  the  cession  to  us  of  the  French  possessions 
in  Oceania. 

"I  am  sending  you  tomorrow  noon  the  counsellor  of  this  embassy  to 
make  you  a  verbal  report. 

"Caillaux  earnestly  requests  that  none  of  these  overtures  be  known 
to  Cambon. 

Schoen." 
((Document  No.  3). 

"Berlin,  November  14,  1911. 

"No.  245,  Rep.  au.  Teleg.  No.  369. 

"Your  Excellency  will  be  kind  enough  to  give  Caillaux  my  sincere 
thanks  for  the  admiration  which  he  has  manifested  in  regard  to  my 
speech  in  the  Reichstag.  I  believe  I  am  in  accord  with  the  Minister 
(Caillaux)  in  asking  that  the  conclusion  of  the  Morocco  negociations 
should  offer  a  basis  for  a  satisfactory  settlement  of  Franco-German 
relations.  I  shall  also  remember  the  aid  which  Caillaux  has  given  per- 
sonally, as  I  am  aware,  to  the  happy  conclusion  of  the  negociations. 

Bethmann  Hollweg." 

Page  34 

"A  delegation  of  United  Socialists".  Herman  Miiller,  Foreign  Min- 
ister of  the  new  German  Republic,  who  with  Johannes  Bell,  Minister  of 
Communications  and  Colonies,  signed  the  Peace  Treaty,  visited  Paris 
on  the  very  eve  of  the  war  to  obtain  the  promise  of  the  French  Social- 
ists, that  they  would  refuse  to  vote  war  credits  in  case  of  a  conflict 
between  France  and  Germany.  He  arrived  in  Paris  August  1,  1914.  At 
Brussels  he  had  been  joined  by  Lt.  Henry  de  Man,  a  Belgian  labor 
leader,  and  Camille  Huysmans,  secretary  of  the  International  Socialist 
Bureau.  All  three  went  to  the  French  capital  together. 

Miiller  talked  with  the  Socialist  Deputies  first  in  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  and  later  at  the  office  of  the  Socialist  newspaper,  PHumanitt 
According  to  de  Man,  in  the  New  York  Times,  of  June  29,  1918,  Muller 
told   the   French   Socialists   he  had  been   sent   by  the   German   £ 
Democracy  "to  make  a  last  attempt  to  prevent  the  war  by  deciding  on 
a  common  course  of  action  by  the  French  and  German  Socialists, 
had  no  authority  to  pledge  his  party  to  any  definite  course,  as  t 
exact   circumstances    at   the   time   of   the   prospective   meeting   « 
Reichstag  could  not  yet  be  foreseen,  but  he  was  authorized  to  expla 
the  situation  and  his  party's  views  at  the  time  wher i  he :  had  left  Berli 
(July  31).  In  the  light  of  this  information  he  said  the  French  Socialii 


286  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

might  find  it  easier  to  determine  their  own  attitude,  should  the  question 
of  war  credits  be  put  to  them.  He  would  take  back  to  Berlin  the  in- 
formation which  they  would  give  him. 

"He  gave  an  optimistic  account  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  Germany 
He  said  he  knew  nothing  about  a  general  mobilization  of  the  German 
Army,  the  rumor  of  which  had  been  spread  in  Paris  that  morning.  The 
state  of  danger  of  war'  (.Kriegsgefahrzustand),  which  had  been  de- 
clared on  July  31,  he  called  a  comparatively  harmless  measure.  As 
Herr  Haase  had  done  at  the  meeting  of  the  International  Socialist 
Bureau  in  Brussels  four  days  earlier,  he  laid  much  stress  on  what  he 
called  the  underhand  encouragement  given  by  the  Imperial  Chancellor 
to  the  anti-war  demonstrations  and  the  alleged  desire  of  the  Kaiser  to 
maintain  peace. 

"As  to  the  Social  Democratic  Party,  Miiller  said,  it  would  on  no 
account  vote  in  favor  of  any  war  credits.  'Dass  man  fur  die  Krieg- 
skrvdite  stimmt,  das  halte  ich  fur  ausgeschlosscn  was  his  deflinite,  re- 
peated statement.  A  fraction,  probably  a  small  minority,  might  favor 
abstention  from  voting,  with  a  view  to  the  danger  from  Russia,  but 
Miiller  declared  that  he  himself  did  not  share  the  latter  view  and  that 
he  thought  an  unanimous  vote  against  the  war  credits  probable,  espec- 
ially if  the  French  Socialists  decided  to  follow  a  similar  course. 

"Discussion  made  it  appear  that  the  French  showed  little  inclination 
to  follow  this  suggestion.  Miiller  got  plenty  of  evidence — notably  from 
Marcel  Sembat  and  Pierre  Renaudel — that  the  earnest  desire  of  the 
French  Government  to  maintain  peace  and,  should  France  be  attacked, 
to  remain  on  the  defensive,  was  above  suspicion.  Reference  was  made 
to  the  decision  of  the  Viviani  Cabinet  to  withdraw  all  French  troops 
within  ten  kilometres  from  the  frontier,  so  as  to  avoid  provocations  and 
clearly  demonstrate  France's  good  will.  Muller  was  also  told  of  the 
repeated  attempts  of  the  French  Government  to  induce  Russia  to  a 
similar  policy  of  moderation,  attempts  in  which  Jean  Jaures,  who  had 
been  assassinated  the  night  before,  had  taken  a  leading  part  until  a 
few  minutes  before  his  death.  Under  these  circumstances  the  majority 
of  the  French  Socialists  would  not  refuse  the  war  credits  which  the 
Government  would  need  should  France  be  attacked.  A  minority  seemed 
to  favor  abstention  as  a  means  to  demonstrate  that  the  Socialist  Party 
refused  any  responsibility  for  the  consequences  of  a  system  of  interna- 
tional competitive  armament  which  it  had  always  opposed. 

"A  lengthy  discussion  followed,  in  which  Muller  repeatedly  insisted 
on  the  desirability  of  a  common  policy.  His  main  argument  was  the 
view  which  had  always  been  advocated  by  August  Bebel,  that  the  dis- 
tinction between  the  attacking  power  and  the  attacked  was  obsolete. 
.•.he  history  of  all  modern  wars,  he  said,  showed  that  they  were  due 
to  general  causes  inherent  to  the  economic  development  of  capitalism 
in  its  imperialistic  stage,  and  that  it  was  usually  impossible  to  know 
the  truth  about  the  actual  incidents  that  led  to  the  declaration  of  war 
until  it  was  all  over.  (This  argument,  by  the  way,  was  repeated  by 
Hermann  Muller  at  the  International  Socialist  Conference  in  Berne  in 
February  last,  to  justify  his  party's  refusal  to  admit  Germany's  guilt  as 
the  attacking  power.)  Consequently,  he  could  see  no  reason  why  the 
attitude  of  the  French  Socialists  should  be  different  from  that  of  their 
German  comrades. 


APPENDIX  287 

"No  formal  decision  was  arrived  at,  but  the  "information1'  Miiller 
had  to  take  home  was  to  the  effect  that  the  French  Socialists  were  not 
to  be  induced  to  refuse  their  Government  the  war  credits,  and  that  the 
theonly  chance  of  a  possible  common  policy  consisted  in  abstention  from 
voting  on  both  sides." 

Miiller  quit  France  that  night  and  boarded  a  train  at  Brussels  for 
Berlin  two  hours  before  the  Germans  handed  their  ultimatum  to 
Belgium. 

On  August  4,  1914,  the  German  Social  Democracy  completely  repud- 
iated Muller's  representations  and  in  a  session  of  the  Reichstag  that 
same  day  voted  the  war  credits  which  the  Kaiser  had  demanded? 

Page  36 

^"P^aident  Poincar^'-  Raymond  Poincarri  is  the  eighth  President  of 
the  Third  French  Republic.  The  others  were  Marshal  Mac  Mahon,  187ts 
resigned  1879;  Jules  Grevy,  1879;  Sadi  Carnot,  1887  murdered,  1894; 
Casimir  P<§rier,  1894,  resigned  after  six  months;  Felix  Faure,  1895, 
died,  1899;  Emile  Loubet,  1899;  Armand  Fallieres,  1906.  President 
Poincar6  became  President  in  1913. 

Page  37 

"The  election  of  May  10,  1914".  The  Temps  grouped  the  different 
factions  thus,  "Briandists,  including  a  part  of  the  Independent  Social- 
ists'^ Independent  Radicals  and  Republicans  of  the  Left,  177;  Minister- 
ialists, including  United  Radicals  (Caillaux's  party),  Modemate  Soc- 
ialists and  some  Independents,  180;  Extreme  Socialists  (followers  of 
JaurSs)  102;  United  Republicans  and  Progressives,  69;  the  Right,  in- 
cluding the  Conservatives,  Royalists,  Bonapartists,  Catholics  and  some 
Independents,  73."  The  Temps  estimated  that  308  out  of  the  602 
members  were  in  favor  of  the  three  year  military  service. 

Page  163 

"The  Caporetto  disaster."  "During  the  summer  of  1917  the  Second 
Italian  army  was  confronted  by  Austrian  regiments  composed  largely 
of  war  weary  Socialists.  During  that  summer  skilful  German  propag- 
andists operating  from  Spain  had  sown  the  seeds  of  pacifism  through- 
out Italy.  This  was  made  easy  by  the  distress  then  existing  partic- 
ularly in  the  villages  where  food  was  scanty  and  complaints  against 
the  conduct  of  the  war  were  numerous.  The  propaganda  extended  from 
the  civilian  population  to  the  army,  and  its  channel  was  directed  main- 
toward  the  Second  Army  encamped  along  the  Isonzo  River. 

"As  a  consequence  of  the  pacifists'  preachments  both  by  word  of 
mouth  and  document,  the  Second  Army  was  ready  for  the  friendly 
approaches  that  came  from  the  front  lines  of  the  Austrians  only  a 
few  yards  away.  Daily  communication  was  established  and  at  night 
the  opposing  soldiers  fraternized  generally.  The  Russian  doctrine,  that 
an  end  of  the  fighting  would  come  if  the  soldiers  agreed  to  do  nol 
more  shooting  spread  through  the  Italian  trenches. 

"This  was  all  a  part  of  a  plan  carefully  mapped  out  by  the  German 
High  Command.  When  the  infection  had  spread,  the  fraternizing  Aust- 
rian troops  were  withdrawn  from  the  front  trenches  and  German  shock 
troops  took  their  places.  On  Oct.  24,  1917,  these  troops  attacked  in 


288  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

force.  The  Italians  in  the  front  line,  mistaking  them  for  the  friendly 
Austrians,  waived  a  greeting.  German  machine  guns  and  rifles  replied 
with  a  deadly  fire,  and  the  great  flanking  movement  had  begun.  So  well 
had  the  Germans  playe'd  their  game  that  the  Italians  lost  more  than 
250,000  prisoners  and  2,300  guns  the  first  week.  The  Italian  positions 
at  Tolmipo  and  Plezzo  were  captured  and  the  whole  Italian  force  was 
compelled  to  retreat  along  a  seventy  mile  front  from  the  Carnic  Alps 
to  the  sea.  The  most  important  point  gained  by  the  enemy  in  its 
early  assault  was  the  village  of  Caporetto  on  the  Upper  Isonzo,  The 
Italian  retreat  at  places  degenerated  into  a  rout  and  it  was  not  until 
the  Italians,  reinforced  by  French  and  British,  reached  the  Piave  River, 
that  a  stand  was  finally  made."  (March's  History  of  the  World  War.) 

Page  235 

"The  doctrines  of  Zimmerwald  and  Kienthal'.  At  Zimmerwald  and 
Kienthal  socialist  congresses  were  held,  where  pacifists,  active  in  spread- 
ing German  propaganda,  met  and  discussed  campaign  plans.  Ac-1 
cording  to  Charles  Edward  Russell,  in  "Bolshevism  and  the  United 
States",  Lenine  was  the  master  mind  of  Zimmerwald,  and  adds:  "The 
gnats  and  wasps  that  issued  from  that  place  and  buzzed  about  the 
heads  of  the  Allied  statesmen  swarmed  out  of  plots  of  his  (Lenine's) 
devising. 

"In  September,  1915,  when  von  Mackensen  was  crushing  Serbia,  when 
the  western  front  was  hopelessly  deadlocked  and  the  cause  of  the  Allies 
was  almost  at  its  lowest,  he  called  to  meet  at  Zimmerwald,  a  small 
town  near  Berne,  a  congress  of  labor  and  radical  representatives  from 
all  the  belligerant  and  neutral  nations.  Germany  and  Austria  re- 
sponded, wearing  bells;  two  notorious  defeatists  and  semi  anarchists 
came  from  France;  Lenine,  himself,  purported  to  represent  Russia; 
several  persons  were  on  hand  from  neutral  countries.  And  there 
amid  all  these  delegates,  met  ostensibly  to  discuss  peace,  sat  unidentified 
no  less  a  person  than  Azeff,  the  most  celebrated,  most  skilful  and  most 
unscrupulous  of  all  the  police  agents  of  the  old  Russia  regime. 

"The  conference  announced  a  program  for  immediate  peace.  Nothing 
could  be  simpler.  The  workers  in  every  belligerent  country  were  to 
go  on  a  general  strike  until  their  respective  governments  should  be 
willing  to  sign  a  peace  treaty.  Whether  Germany  was  to  surrender 
the  territory  she  had  grabbed  was  not  made  clear,  but  anyway,  no 
annexations,  no  indemnities,  not  even  for  mutilated  Belgium. 

"That  was  the  origin  of  that  famous  phrase  that  presently  went 
echoing  around  the  world.  I  have  no  doubt  Lenine  himself  invented 
it.  In  the  original  it  was  'no  annexations,  no  contributions',  but,  as 
nobody  was  able  to  guess  what  that  might  mean,  those  that  helped  to 
speed  it  on  its  way  amended  it  into  its  more  familiar  form. 

"But  Zimmerwald,  while  it  made  trouble,  failed  to  make  peace.  The 
next  year  he  (Lenine)  repeated  the  attempt  with  a  similar  congress  at 
Kienthal,  similar  attended  and  with  similar  results." 

One  of  the  French  delegates  to  Zimmerwald  was  Jean  Longuet, 
grandson  of  Karl  Marx,  the  founder  of  German  socialism.  Longuet  is  a 
Paris  Deputy.  (See  Chapter  XXI.) 

Page  265 

"We  shall  have  our  national  elections  next  fair*.     There  were  no 


APPENDIX  289 

elections  during  the  war.  Deputies  are  elected  for  four  years,  but 
those  elected  in  May,  1914,  are  still  in  office.  At  the  next  elections, 
which  will  be  held  during  the  closing  months  of  1919,  the  entire 
Chamber  of  Deputies,  at  least  one  third  the  Senate,  and  the  President  of 

the  Republic  are  to  be  elected.  The  Senators  are  elected  for  nine 
years,  one  third  being  chosen  every  three  years.  The  President  is 

elected  by  the  Senate  and  Chamber  of  Deputies,  sitting  in  special  joint 

session  at  Versailles. 

Page  265 

"Lenoir  was  condemned  to  death."1  The  dramatic  escape  early  this 
morning  of  Pierre  Lenoir  from  death  at  the  hands  of  a  firing  squad  in 
the  Vincennes  woods  was  the  subject  of  lively  conversations  in  political 
circles  today.  Lenoir  had  been  tried  with  Senator  Humbert  and  other 
defendants  for  having  communicated  military  intelligence  to  the  enemy 
and  was  sentenced  to  death. 

The  firing  squad  already  had  taken  its  place  and  preparations  were 
being  made  to  escort  Lenoir  out  to  meet  death  from  a  volley  of  the 
riflemen  when  the  condemned  man  begged  to  be  confronted  with  former 
Premier  Caillaux,  who  is  under  charges  similar  to  those  on  which  Lenoir 
was  convicted.  The  execution  was  suspended  and  the  condemned  man 
remained  in  his  cell. . . . 

In  connection  with  the  reprieve  of  Lenoir  it  may  be  remembered  that 
Bolo  Pacha  succeeded  in  postponing  his  execution  ten  days  while  making 
revelations. 

(Associated  Press  dispatch,  published  in  the  New  York  Herald  of 
September  20,  1919.) 

On  Oct.  24,  1919,  Lenoir  was  executed  at  La  Sante.  He  was  suffering 
from  paralysis  in  both  legs,  and  had  to  be  carried  to  the  place  of 
execution. 

Page  264 

"Caillaux  still  remains  in  prison  untried."  Caillaux  was  locked  up 
in  La  Sante,  January  14,  1918.  On  July  26,  1919,  the  Commission  of 
the  High  Court,  which  had  been  holding  hearings,  examining  witnesses, 
inspecting  documents,  held  the  final  interrogatory  of  the  accused.  The 
formalities  prior  to  Ihe  trial  were  ^hereupon  ended. 

On  July  30,  the  trial  of  Caillaux  was  recommended  by  Theodore 
Lescouyre,  Attorney  General  of  the  French  Republic,  in  a  report  filed 
with  the  commission  of  inquiry.  It  was  then  stated  that  Lt.  Mornet, 
who  prosecuted  Bolo  and  the  Bonnet  Rouge  gang,  would  assist  M. 
Lescouvre  in  the  prosecution  of  Caillaux. 

On  August  2  Edouard  Ignace,  Under  Secretary  for  Military  Justice, 
declared  that  all  documents  relating  to  the  prosecuion  of  Caillaux  had 
been  turned  over  to  the  High  Court.  His  statement  was  in  reply  to 
the  petition  of  counsel  for  Caillaux  to  Premier  Clemenceau,  that  letters 
between  Deputy  Attorney  General  Becker  of  New  York  State  and  M. 
Jusserand,  French  Ambassador  to  the  United  States,  be  incorporated 
in  the  Caillaux  dossier.  M.  Ignace  also  added  that  the  Becker-Jusser- 
and  correspondence  had  not  reached  him,  and  suggested  that  the  petit- 
ioners were  free  to  apply  for  its  production  by  legal  means. 

On  September  9  the  Temps  announced  that  Caillaux  would  be  per- 


290  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

mitted  to  leave  La  Sante  for  a  sanitarium.  His  counsel  had  applied 
for  his  removal  from  prison  on  the  ground  that  his  health  had  been 
impaired  by  anxiety  and  long  confinement.  On  the  same  day,  Walter 
Duranty,  Paris  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Times  cabled: 

"It  is  possible  that  the  Government  may  use  Caillaux's  ill  health 
which  is  genuine  enough,  whether  or  not  it  is  due,  as  his  friends  assert, 
to  the  year  and  a  half  confinement  he  has  undergone,  as  a  pretext  for 
letting  the  case  drop  altogether. 

"His  friends — who  are  more  numerous  and  much  more  devoted  than 
may  be  realized  in  America — say  that  some  such  conclusion  as  this 
would  be  fully  in  accord  with  Clernenceau's  action  in  keeping  his  most 
dangerous  opponent  a  year  and  a  half  in  prison  without  trial,  because 
he  knew  that  the  prosecution  would  utterly  break  down  if  put  to  a  real 
test." 

On  September  13,  Caillaux  was  transferred  from  La  Sante  to  a  private 
hospital  at  Neuilly,  suburb  of  Paris. 

On  September  16,  the  commission  of  inquiry  of  the  High  Court,  sit- 
ting as  a  tribunal  of  accusation,  ordered  Caillaux  to  face  charges  of 
intriguing  with  the  enemy  to  bring  about  a  premature  and  dishonorable 
peace.  It  was  decided  to  discharge  Louis  Loustalot  and  Paul  Comby, 
who  were  mixed  up  in  Caillaux's  dealings  with  Cavallini. 

On  October  23  the  Senate,  as  a  High  Court,  refused  to  grant 
Caillaux  his  petition  for  provisional  liberty  and  set  his  trial  for 
Jan.  14.  1920. 

Page  264 

"How  can  France  have  real  peace  as  long  as  the  socialists  remain  so 
powerful?"  There  were  various  groups  of  socialists  in  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies  during  the  war,  which  varied  in  size  and  strength  con- 
tinually. Their  principles  ranged  from  those  of  true  democracy  to 
the  extremist  views  of  Bolshevism.  Because  of  the  combination  of 
some  and  the  splitting  of  other  factions  on  different  occasions,  it  may 
lie  said  that  the  socialistic  element  in  the  Chamber  for  the  last  five 
years  has  been  in  a  constant  state  of  flux.  The  United  Socialists, 
formerly  led  by  Jaures,  have  held  together  with  the  greatest  cohesion. 
Recently,  however,  a  number  of  them  have  become  alarmed  at  the 
radical  tendency  of  their  leaders,  and  have  declared  that  the  present 
policy  of  their  party  would  plunge  France  into  the  abyss  of  a  proletariat 
dictatorship. 

For  example,  M.  Nectoux,  a  socialist  Deputy  of  Paris,  and  M.  Erlich, 
a  socialist  candidate  for  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  in  1914,  resigned 
from  the  United  Socialist  party  on  August  29,  1919,  because,  they  said, 
its  doctrines  too  much  resembled  those  of  Lenine. 

Page  266 

"Germany  is  still  fighting  for  supremacy,....  scheming.. to  incite 
class  jealousies,  to  keep  att  the  rest  of  the  world  in  a  ferment..". 

"For  a  number  of  years  prior  to  our  entry  into  the  world  war  a -rents 
of  the  German  Government  persistently  carried  on  a  great  propaganda 
in  the  United  States,  the  purpose  of  which  was  to  promote  the  in- 


APPENDIX  291 

terests  of  the  German  Government  and  to  create  a  sentiment  in  this 
country  in  favor  of  that  Government  to  the  prejudice  of  this  nation. 
Every  activity  which  tended  to  weaken  our  Government  or  to  arouse 
antagonisms  that  would  demoralize  the  unity  and  morale  of  our  popul- 
ation and  every  movement  that  was  aimed  at  involving  us  in  foreign 
disputes  or  domestic  difficulties  was  encouraged  and  frequently  financed 
by  the  agents  and  representatives  of  the  German  Government. 

•'Today  the  forces  of  anarchy  and  violence  are  utilizing  the  financial 
resources  plundered  by  them  from  the  European  people  they  have 
succeeded  in  exploiting,  to  import  into  this  country  money,  literature, 
and  hired  agents  for  the  purpose  of  promulgating  the  doctrine  of  force, 
violence,  assassination,  confiscation,  and  revolution. 
"As  an  effect  of  these  activities  there  has  appeared  in  this  country  a 
large  group  of  persons  who  advocate  the  overthrow  of  all  organized 
government,  and  especially  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  who 
favor  revolutionary  movements,  repudiate  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  refuse  to  respect  our  national  emblem  and  our  governmental 
institutions.  There  are  found  among  the  leaders  of  this  group  many 
aliens  who  unhesitatingly  abuse  the  hospitality  which  this  country  has 
extended  to  them  and  who  because  of  their  leadership  are  able  to  retard 
the  real  Americanization  of  the  more  ignorant  residents  possessing  sim- 
ilar racial  characteristics.  These  persons  encourage  and  maintain  a 
solidarity  of  the  people  of  the  several  foreign  tongues  which  is  used 
to  create  and  incite  a  class  hatred  that  is  quickly  absorbed  by  and  in- 
corporated into  the  revolutionary  movement  led  by  them.  The  Alien  ele- 
ment in  this  country  is  the  most  susceptible  and  is  the  first  to  adopt 
violence  as  an  effective  weapon  for  supremacy. 

"More  reprehensible  than  the  alien  element  is  that  class  of  American 
citizens,  whether  native  born  or  naturalized,  who  having  obliged  them- 
selves to  support  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
lightly  disregard  their  responsibilities  and  promulgate  the  doctrine  that 
the  form  of  Government  established  by  the  Constitution  should  be  over- 
thrown and  that  a  Government  responsive  to  a  class  rather  than  to  all 
the  people  should  be  forcibly  substituted  therefore.  It  is  a  significant 
fact  that  almost  without  exception  the  persons  in  this  country  who  are 
today  advocating  revolution  and  violence  and  all  of  the  suffering,  pain, 
and  Bloodshed  incident  to  such  a  movement,  have  during  the  great 
ttruggle  of  the  last  two  years  undertaken  to  handicap,  check,  and  ob- 
struct in  eery  way  possible  the  military  operations  of  this  government 
under  the  pretext  that  their  consciences  would  not  permit  them  to  take 
the  life  of  their  fellow-men  even  in  war.  The  destruction  of  life,  pro- 
pertv,  and  Government  has  no  horrors  to  them  when  directed  toward  the 
overthrow  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  but  the  use  of  force 
in  defense  of  our  country  they  conscientiously  object  to." 

(Report  of  U.  S.  Senate  Committee,  signed  by  Senators  Lee  S.  Over- 
man, chairman;  William  H.  King,  Josiah  O.  Walcott,  Knute  Nelson,  and 
Thomas  Sterling.  Made  public,  June  15,  1919). 

Page  269 

"Berlin  was  negotiating  for  the  purchase   of   the   Paris  newspaper 
I'Eclair." 
When  the  Germans  left  Brussels,  they  abandoned  many  official  papers 


292  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

among  which  were  copies  of  telegrams  and  letters  between  von  Jagow, 
Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  and  von  der  Lancken,  Civil 
Governor  of  Brussels.  Agents  of  the  Surete  Nationale  of  Paris,  cooper- 
ating with  the  Belgian  authorities,  obtained  access  to  these  documents 
and  uncovered  a  mass  of  information  revealing  various  efforts  of  Ger- 
many to  corrupt  French  opinion  through  the  intermediation  of  French 
editors  and  writers. 

One  set  of  papers  showed  that  Alphonse  Lenoir,  a  Paris  publicity 
agent,  had  proposed  to  Germany  the  plan  of  purchasing  Le  Journal. 
In  one  communication  to  von  der  Lancken  von  Jagow  explained  that 
Lenoir  was  a  friend  of  Caillaux,  "and  had  been  mixed  up  in  the  Agadir 
affair,  in  which  you  yourself  took  part."  Alphonse  Lenior  was  the 
father  of  Pierre  Lenoir,  who  was  tried  with  Humbert  and  Desouches, 
and  found  guilty  of  treason. 

Proof  was  also  found  that  Ernest  Judet,  editor  of  VEclair  had  not 
only  been  negociating  for  the  sale  of  his  newspaper  to  the  enemy  for 
2,000,000  francs,  but  had  visited  the  Pope  for  the  purpose  of  preventing 
the  Vatican  from  relinquishing  his  neutral  attitude.  Mention  was  made 
of  a  dinner  at  which  Judet  and  Caillaux  conferred  at  great  length. 

On  August  24,  the  military  Governor  of  Paris  ordered  the  prosecu- 
tion of  Judet  for  intelligence  with  the  enemy.  Judet  had  managed  a 
Paris  journal,  called  VEclair  for  many  years.  In  1917  he  sold  this 
newspaper  and  went  to  Switzerland.  At  the  time  he  was  criticized  for 
having  given  his  children  into  the  hands  of  German  educators  aud 
of  being  intimate  with  various  personages  who  were  enemies  of  France. 

The  Judet  affair,  however,  had  never  come  to  the  official  notice  of 
the  French  government,  until  a  telegram  was  discovered  among  the 
papers  left  by  von  der  Lancken  in  Brussels,  which  read: 

DISPATCH 

"From  the  office  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Berlin,  11,12,1914,  1  a.m.,  to  the 
High  Commissioner,  von  der  Lancken,  Brussels.  (Arrived,  11,  12,  1914, 
9  a.m.) 

"After  receiving  certain  news  from  Switzerland,  one  must  form  the 
opinion  that  the  situation  is  less  favorable  for  us  now  than  four  weeks 
ago.  A  change  of  conditions  will  not  be  possible  without  a  great 
German  success  and  a  campaign  of  propaganda  more  to  the  point.  To 
accomplish  this  I  would  wish  to  engage  Judet.  He  at  first  declined 
the  offers  that  have  been  made  to  him  through  an  intermediary;  but 
finally,  he  consented.  He  said  that  he  would  have  to  abandon  the 
editorshhip  of  his  paper  which  represented  a  value  of  1,500,000  francs; 
and  that  he  risked  losing  a  private  fortune  of  500,000  francs.  He 
accordingly,  demanded  2,000,000  francs.  For  that  sum  he  would  devote 
all  his  energy  to  our  cause. 

"This  figure  seems  to  me  unreasonable.  Let  me  have  your  opinion.  I 
stay  here  until  Monday. 

(Sig'ned)   Jagow". 

Jules  Rateau,  in  I'Avenir,  in  telling  of  an  interview  with  the  Pope, 
June  2,  1915,  wrote: 

"During  the  three  quarters  of  an  hour  that  we  talked,  the  Pope  de- 
fended the  policy  of  neutrality  followed  by  the  Vatican  since  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war;  and  when  I  laid  special  stress  on  the  atrocities 
committed  by  the  Germans,  the  Pope  exclaimed: 


APPENDIX  293 

"  'But  how  can  you  wish  me  to  do  differently.  I  am  the  Pope  not 
only  of  France  but  all  Christendom.  Therefore,  how  can  I  cast  a  de- 
ciding vote.  How  can  I  distinguish  justice  and 'injustice  in  your  fear- 
ful struggle.  Why,  in  that  same  place  in  which  you  are  sitting,  some 
days  ago,  a  Frenchman,  a  very  important  Frenchman  told  me  that  in 
France  they  were  shooting  German  prisoners.' 

"The  next  day  I  learned  from  some  Italian  journalists  that  M.  Judet 
recently  had  had  several  secret  interviews  with  the  Pope." 

Page  269 

"In  the  United  States,"  remarked  the  French  officer,  "Germany  hat 
long  been  fostering  an  Irish  movement." 

Proof  of  the  way  Germany  stirred  up  the  Irish  in  the  United  States 
during  the  war  is  furnished  by  the  report  of  the  sub-committee  of  the 
U.  S.  Senate  Judiciary  committee,  of  which  Senator  Lee  S.  Overman  is 
chairman,  made  public  June  15,  1919.  It  told  of  the  activities  of  Dr. 
Albert,  the  fiscal  agent  of  the  German  Empire  in  New  York,  and  Dr. 
Fuehr,  head  of  its  press  bureau.  It  also  said: 

"In  addition  to  the  German  Information  News  Service,  the  bureau 
maintained  what  was  known  as  the  Irish  Press  and  News  Service.  This 
was  maintained  in  separate  offices  at  42  West  Forty-second  Street,  New 
York  City,  but  was  under  the  control  of  Dr.  Fuehr  and  his  agents.  The 
active  manager  of  the  Irish  Press  and  News  Service  for  the  Germans 
was  one  James  K.  Maguire,  who,  with  his  corps  of  assistants,  sent  out 
news  service  bulletins  two  or  three  times  a  week  to  eighteen  or  twenty- 
newspapers,  in  many  of  which  he  personally  was  interested,  and  also  to 
various  daily  newspapers.  Copies  of  all  propaganda  material  supplied 
by  the  Irish  Press  and  News  Service  were  sent  to  Dr.  Fuehr. 

"Dr.  Albert's  part  in  the  propaganda  work  of  the  German  represent- 
atives was  to  attend  conferences  with  Dr.  Fuehr,  Dr.  Hale,  and  others, 
advise  on  the  general  plan  of  propaganda,  and  himself  to  deliver  talks 
and  lectures  in  clubs  and  in  more  or  less  exclusive  circles  of  literary 
men  and  educators.  (William  Bayard  Hale  edited  a  special  propa- 
ganda sheet,  published  by  the  German  Information  Service). 

"Part  of  the  system  was  to  enlist  the  aid  and  assistance  of  professors 
in  American  colleges  as  writers  in  favor  of  Germany,  so  that  their 
personal  influence  and  the  influence  of  their  reports  could  be  used  to  the 
advantage  of  the  German  cause." 

Page  277 

"There  might  be  an  opening  of  the  military  debate  by  Germany."f 
Those  who  believe  that  America  may  never  need  to  go  again  to  the 
aid  of  France  should  look  back  over  the  history  of  Germany.  Inquiry 
will  show  that  the  Boches  have  been  in  the  habit  of  invading  France 
every  forty  years  on  an  average  for  the  last  twenty  centuries.  Justin 
McGrath,  Paris  correspondent  of  the  Universal  Service,  quoting  Louis 
Forest,  of  Lorraine,  April  13,  1919,  wrote 

"A  century  before  Christ,  300,000  boches  invaded  France,  pillaging, 
devastating,  killing,  as  tar  south  as  Aix-en-Provence.  They  were  ueaten 
and  swore  they  would  never  do  it  again.  Sixty  years  later,  240,000 
boches  invaded  France  and  installed  themselves  in  the  Jurai-  Three 


294  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

years  later,  the  Helvetians,  pushed  by  the  boches,  invaded  France.  They 
were  beaten  and  the  boches  swore  they  would  never  do  it  again. 

"Three  years  later  400,000  boches  invaded  the  Meuse  and  Oise  dis- 
tricts. They  were  beaten  and  swore  they  would  never  do  it  again. 
Sixteen  years  before  Christ  an  army  of  boches  invaded  the  left  bank  of 
the  Rhine. 

"Two  hundred  and  thirteen  years  after  Christ  the  boches  began  again. 
They  were  beaten.  They  began  again  twenty  years  later  and  when  beaten 
swore  they  would  never  do  it  again.  Twenty-four  years  later  the  boches 
invaded  the  valley  of  the  Rhine. 

"In  275  A.  D.,  the  boches  invaded  the  banks  of  the  Rhine.  Twenty- 
six  years  later  they  destroyed  everything  as  far  as  Langres.  Beaten, 
they  swore  they  would  never  do  it  again.  Fifty  years  later  the  boches 
reoccupied  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine.  Three  years  later  the  boches  in- 
vaded France  as  far  as  Lyons  and  Lens.  Six  years  later  they  invaded 
France  near  Besancon. 

"Four  years  later  the  boches  invaded  Belgium.  Eight  years  later  the 
boches  invaded  Alsace.  Ten  years  later  they  were  beaten  on  the 
Sambre.  Eighteen  years  later  the  boches  invaded  all  of  Gaul.  France 
was  totally  ravaged.  Two  years  later  the  boches  pillaged  as  far 
as  Toulouse,  Norbonne  and  Bordeaux.  But  my  article  is  getting  to  be 
too  long. 

"In  413,  800,  848,  978,  1124,  1214,  1513,  1521,  1523,  1536,  1544,  1552, 
1553,  1567,  1569,  1576,  1587,  1636,  1674,  1675,  1707,  1708,  1744,  1792,  1793, 
1814,  1815,  1870,  the  boches  invaded  France.  Whenever  beaten  they 
have  been  humble,  fooling  the  French  with  platitudes,  their  friendship, 
their  condescension,  swearing  they  would  never  do  it  again." 

Page  278 

"They  believe  in  America  first" "Germany,  through  the  mouth  of 

her  Emperor,  though  her  writers  and  through  every  action,  said: 

"  'Here  we  stand,  ready  to  take  care  of  ourselves.  We  will  not  enter 
into  any  combination.  We  are  armed  for  self  defense  and  we  know 
that  no  nation  can  compete  with  us.' 

"That  appears  to  be  the  American  program  in  the  eyes  of  some  gentle- 
men, and  I  want  to  tell  you  that  in  the  last  two  weeks  the  pro  Germanism 
element  has  lifted  its  head  again.  It  says: 

"  'I  see  a  chance  for  Germany  and  America  to  stay  out  and  take 
care  of  themselves.' 

"There  were  passions  let  loose  on  the  Geld  of  the  world  at  war 
which  have  not  grown  quiet  and  which  will  not  for  a  long  time.  Every 
element  of  disorder  is  hoping  that  there  will  be  no  staying  hand  from 
the  Council  of  Nations  to  hold  the  order  of  the  world  steady,  until  we 
can  make  the  final  arrangements  of  justice  and  peace.... 

"America  can  stay  out,  but  I  want  you  to  witness  that  the  peace  of 
the  world  cannot  be  established  with  the  peace  of  the  individual  nations. 
America  is  necessary  to  the  peace  of  the  world. 

"The  peace  and  goodwill  of  the  world  are  necessary  to  America  lest 
you  disappoint  the  world,  center  its  suspicion  on  you,  make  it  feel  that 
you  are  filled  with  jealousy  and  selfishness. . . . 


APPENDIX  295 

"Your  choice  is  between  the  League  of  Nations  and  Germanism." 
(President  Wilson,  at  Sioux  Falls,  September  8,  1919). 

Page  278 

"The  Franco-American  Treaty." 

The  text  of  the  Franco- American  treaty,  signed  by  Clemenceau, 
Pichon,  Wilson  and  Lansing,  June  28,  1919,  reads  as  follows: 

Considering  that  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  Government 
of  the  French  Republic  are  equally  animated  by  a  desire  to  maintain 
the  peace  of  the  world,  so  happily  restored  by  the  treaty  signed  at 
Versailles  on  June  28,  which  put  an  end  to  the  war  begun  by  the  ag- 
gression of  the  German  Empire  and  terminated  by  the  defeat  of  that 
power,  and 

"Considering  that  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  Government 
of  the  French  Republic,  fully  convinced  that  an  unprovoked  aggression 
directed  by  Germany  against  France  would  not  only  violate  at  the 
same  time  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  Versailles  Treaty,  to  which  the 
United  States  and  France  are  parties,  thus  exposing  France  anew  to 
the  intolerable  burden  of  unprovoked  war,  but  that  such  aggression  on 
the  act  reputed  by  the  Treaty  of  Versailles  as  being  against  all  the 
powers  signatory  to  the  treaty  and  calculated  to  trouble  the  peace  of 
the  world,  involving  inevitably  and  directly  the  States  of  Europe  and 
indirectly  the  entire  world,  as  experience  has  amply  and  unhappily 
demonstrated,  and 

"Considering  that  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  Government 
of  the  French  Republic  apprehend  that  the  stipulations  concerning  the 
left  bank  of  the  Rhine  cannot  assure  immediately  to  France,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  to  the  United  States,  on  the  other,  as  signatory  powers  to 
the  Treaty  of  Versailles,  appropriate  security  and  protection;  

"Consequently,  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  Government  of 
the  French  Republic,  having  decided  to  conclude  a  treaty  to  realize 
these  necessary  ends,  Woodrow  Wilson,  President  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  and  Robert  Lansing,  Secretary  of  State,  specially  author- 
ized to  that  end  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and 
Georges  Clemenceau,  President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers  and  Minister 
of  War,  and  Stephen  Pichon,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  specially 
authorized  to  that  end  by  Raymond  Poincare,  President  of  the  French 
Republic,  have  agreed  upon  the  following: 

"ARTICLE  1. — The  following  stipulations  concerning  the  left  bank 
of  the  Rhine  are  contained  in  the  Peace  Treaty  signed  with  Germany  at 
Versailles,  June  28,  1919,  by  the  United  States  of  America,  by  the 
Government  of  the  French  Republic,  and  by  the  British  Empire,  among 
other  powers: 

"Article  42.— Germany  is  forbidden  to  maintain  or  construct  any 
fortifications  either  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine  or  on  the  right  bank 
to  the  west  of  a  line  drawn  fifty  kilometers  to  the  east  of  the  Rhine. 

"Article  43 In  the  area  defined  above  the  maintenance  and  the 

assembly  of  armed  forces,  either  permanently  or  temporarily,  and  milit- 
ary manoeuvres  of  any  kind,  as  well  as  the  upkeep  of  all  permanent 
works  for  mobilization,  are  in  the  same  way  forbidden. 

"Article  44 In  case  Germany  violates  in  any  manner  whatever  the 

provisions  of  Articles  42  and  43  she  shall  be  regarded  as  committing  a 


296  THE  ENEMY  WITHIN 

hostile  act  against  the  powers  signatory  of  the  present  treaty  and  as 
calculated  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  world. 

"In  case  these  stipulations  should  not  assure  immediately  to  France 
appropriate  security  and  protection,  the  United  States  of  America  shall 
be  bound  to  come  immediately  to  her  aid  in  case  of  any  unprovoked  act 
of  aggression  directed  against  her  by  Germany. 

ARTICLE  2 The  present    treaty,  couched  in   terms   analogous   to 

those  of  a  treaty  concluded  on  the  same  date  and  to  the  same  end* 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  French  Republic,  a  copy  of  which  i$ 
hereto  annexed,  will  not  enter  into  force  until  the  moment  when  the 
latter  is  ratified. 

"ARTICLE  3 — The  present  treaty  must  be  submitted  to  the  Council 
of  the  Society  of  Nations  and  must  be  recognized  by  the  council,  de- 
ciding if  occasion  arise  by  majority,  as  an  engagement  in  conformity 
with  the  covenant  of  the  society.  It  will  remain  in  force  until,  upon 
demand  of  one  of  the  parties  to  the  treaty,  the  council  deciding  if 
occasion  arise  by  a  majority,  finds  that  the  society  itself  assumes  suffi- 
cient protection. 

"ARTICLE  4 — The  present  treaty  shall  before  ratification  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  French  Parliament  for  approval  and  it  shall  be  submitted 
to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  of  America  at  the  same  time  as  the 
treaty  of  Versailles  (the  German  peace  treaty)  shall  be  submitted  for 
assent  to  ratification.  Ratifications  shall  be  exchanged  at  the  time  of 
deposit  in  Paris  of  the  ratifications  of  the  Treaty  of  Versailles,  or  as 
soon  afterward  as  possible." 

The  agreement  between  France  and  England  is  similar  to  the  Franco- 
American  treaty,  except  that  it  provides  "that  England  consents  to 
come"  to  the  aid  of  France,  whereas  Article  1  of  the  Franco-American 
treaty  reads:  "The  United  States  will  be  bound  to  come  to  the  aid  of 
France  immediately".  The  Franco-British  treaty  imposes  no  obligation 
upon  uny  of  the  British  dominions  to  send  overseas  expeditions,  unless 
approved  by  local  parliaments. 

Why  the  Franco-American  treaty  is  necessary. 

In  submitting  the  Franco-American  treaty  to  the  United  States 
Senate  July  29,  1919,  President  Wilson  said: 

"Gentlemen  of  the  Senate:  I  take  pleasure  in  laying  before  you  a 
treaty  with  the  Republic  of  France,  the  object  of  which  is  to  secure  that 
republic  the  immediate  aid  of  the  United  States  of  America  in  case  of 
any  unprovoked  movement  of  aggression  against  her  on  the  part  of 
Germany .... 

"It  was  signed  on  the  same  day  with  the  treaty  of  peace,  and  is  in- 
tended as  a  temporary  supplement  to  it.  It  is  believed  that  the  treaty 
of  peace  with  Germany  itself  provides  adequate  protection  to  France 
against  aggression  from  her  recent  enemy  on  the  east;  but  the  years 
immediately  ahead  of  us  contain  many  incalculable  possibilities.  The 
covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations  provides  for  military  action  for  the 
protection  of  its  members  only  upon  advice  of  the  Council  of  the  League 
. — advice  given,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  only  upon  deliberation  and  acted 
upon  by  each  of  the  Governments  of  the  member  States  If  its  own  judg- 
ment justifies  such  action.  The  object  of  the  special  treaty  with  France 
which  I  now  submit  to  you  is  to  provide  for  immediate  military  assist- 


APPENDIX  297 

ance  to  France  by  the  United  States  in  case  of  any  unprovoked  move- 
ment of  aggression  against  her  by  Germany  without  waiting  for  the 
advice  of  the  Council  of  the  League  of  Nations  that  such  action  will 
be  taken.  It  is  to  be  an  arrangement,  not  independent  of  the  League 
of  Nations,  but  under  it. 

"It  is,  therefore,  expressly  provided  that  this  treaty  shall  be  made 
the  subject  of  consideration  at  the  same  time  with  the  treaty  of  peace 
with  Germany;  that  this  special  arrangement  shall  receive  the  approval 
of  the  Council  of  the  League;  and  that  this  special  provision  for  the 
safety  of  France  shall  remain  in  force  only  until,  upon  the  application 
of  one  of  the  parties  to  it,  the  Council  of  the  League,  acting,  if  necessary, 
by  a  majority  vote,  shall  agree  that  the  provisions  of  the  covenant  of  the 
League  afford  her  sufficient  protection. 

"I  was  moved  to  sign  this  treaty  by  considerations  which  will,  I  hope, 
seem  as  persuasive  and  as  irresistible  to  you  as  they  seemed  to  me.  We 
are  bound  to  France  by  ties  of  friendship  which  we  have  always  regard- 
ed, and  shall  always  regard,  as  peculiarly  sacred.  She  assisted  us  to  win 
our  freedom  as  a  nation.  It  is  seriously  to  be  doubted  whether  we 
could  have  won  it  without  her  gallant  and  timely  aid.  We  have  recently 
had  the  privilege  of  assisting  in  driving  enemies,  who  were  also  enemies 
of  the  world,  from  her  soil;  but  that  does  not  pay  our  debt  to  her. 
Nothing  can  pay  such  a  debt.  She  now  desires  that  we  promise 
to  lend  our  great  forces  to  keep  her  safe  against  the  power  she 
has  had  most  reason  to  fear  Another  great  nation  volunteers  the 
same  promise.  It  is  one  of  the  fine  reversals  of  history  that  that 
nation  should  be  the  very  power  from  whom  France  fought 
to  set  us  free.  A  new  day  has  dawned.  Old  antagonisms  are 
forgotten.  The  common  cause  of  freedom  and  enlightenment  has 
created  a  new  comradeship  and  a  new  perception  of  what  it  is  wise  and 
necessary  for  great  nations  to  do  to  free  the  world  of  intolerable  fear. 
Two  Governments  who  wish  to  be  members  of  the  League  of  Nations  ask 
leave  of  the  Council  of  the  League  to  be  permitted  to  go  to  the  assist- 
ance of  a  friend  whose  situation  has  been  found  to  be  one  of  peculiar 
peril,  without  awaiting  the  advice  of  the  league  to  act. 

"It  is  by  taking  such  pledges  as  this  that  we  prove  ourselves  faithful 
to  the  utmost  to  the  highest  obligations  of  gratitude  and  tested  friend- 
ship.   Such  an  act  as  this  seems  to  me  one  of  the  proofs  that  we  are  a 
people  that  sees  the  true  heart  of  duty  and  prefers  honor  to  its  own 
separate  course  of  peace. 

"WOODROW  WILSON. 
"The  White  House,  July  26,  1919." 


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